THE  FORUM  OF 
DEMOCRACY 


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WooDROw  Wilson 


THE     FORUM    OF 

DEMOCRACY 


BY 

DWIGHT  EVERETT  WATKINS 

PROFESSOR   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 
KNOX   COLLEGE,  GALESBURG,    ILLINOIS 

AND 

ROBERT  EDWARD  WILLIAMS 

INSTRUCTOR  IN  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 
KNOX  COLLEGE 


Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 

and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from 

the  earth- 

—  Lincoln. 


ALLYN    AND    BACON 

SlSoston  Neto  gork  (!l:i)icag0 


COPYRIGHT.   1917,   1918 

BY  DWIGHT   E.  WATKINS 

AND   ROBERT   E.   WILLIAMS 


Narinooli  }fiTt9» 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Ikrwlck  &  Smith  Oo. 

Norwood,  MasB.,  U.S.A. 


■w  3  -^- 


PREFACE 

The  aim  of  this  book  is  to  inspire  patriotism,  to  set  forth 
the  democratic  ideals  of  the  United  States  and  its  associates 
in  the  Great  War,  and  at  the  same  time  to  furnish  classes 
in  reading  and  speaking  with  a  new,  interesting,  and  stimu- 
lating collection  of  the  writings  and  speeches  of  the  master 
minds  of  to-day. 

Kot  only  are  these  selections  valuable  for  reading  and 
for  study,  they  are  filled  with  a  dramatic  appeal  and  an 
intensity  of  feeling  and  purpose  which  make  them  espe- 
cially suited  to  classes  in  declamation. 

Men  feel  deeply,  think  earnestly,  and  speak  sincerely  in 
times  of  tragic  crisis.  Under  these  conditions  oratory  flour- 
ishes. Such  was  the  case  in  1775,  when  Patrick  Henry, 
James  Otis,  and  others  called  down  the  wrath  of  the  people 
of  the  new  world  on  the  tyranny  of  the  old ;  such  was  the 
case  in  '61  and  the  white-hot  years  preceding,  when  Cal- 
houn and  Webster,  Beecher  and  Lincoln  set  forth  the  con- 
flicting views  on  slavery  and  union. 

To-day,  as  in  the  past,  men's  truest  thoughts  and  highest 
(A  aspirations  are  being  given  to  the  world  by  her  great  states- 
men and  thinkers.  Out  of  this  furnace-heat  of  conflict 
^  thoughts  have  been  given  expression,  ideals  voiced,  and 
M  convictions  stated,  so  forceful  in  character  and  so  beautiful 
in  form  that  they  deserve  a  permanent  place  in  the  litera- 
(0    ture  of  coming  generations. 

^  The  sources  have  been  many  and  varied.  British  pam- 
5  phlets,  the  Bulletin  of  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and 
>c    the  newspaper  reports  to  the  United  States  have  been  freely 


m 


a 

3 


IV  PREFACE 

drawn  upon.  Especially  valuable  has  been  the  assistance 
of  the  New  York  Times  Current  History  Magazine,  without 
whose  kind  permission  to  reprint  various  copyrighted  ex- 
tracts this  little  volume  would  have  been  impossible. 

D.  E.  W. 
R.  E.  W. 

NOTEUBER,    1917. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PASS 

England  Unsheathes  the  Sword  .         Herbert  Henry  Asquith        1 
September  5,  1914. 

Now  the  War  Has  Come       .        .        .        Winston  Churchill        4 
September  11,  1914. 

Belgium's  Plea  to  the  President         Henry  Carton  de  Wiart        7 
September  16,  1914. 

The  President's  Reply Woodrow  Wilson      10 

September  16,  1914. 

The  Plain  Dictates  of  Our  Duty         Herbert  Henry  Asquith       12 
October  2,  1914. 

The  Soldier  of  1914  (I) Rene  Doumic      14 

October  26,  1914. 

The  Soldier  of  1914  (II) Rene  Doumic      19 

October  26,  1914. 

Certainty  of  Victory     ....     Rene  Raphael  Viviani      22 
December  22,  1914. 

Belgium  Shall  Rise Cardinal  Mercier      24 

December  25,  1914, 

There  Must  Be  No  Delay    .        .        .       David  Lloyd  George      28 
February  8,  1915. 

Allies'  Conditions  of  Peace         .        .        .    Sir  Edward  Grey      32 
March  22,  1915. 

America  for  Humanity Woodrow  Wilson      35 

May  17,  1915. 

V 


VI  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAoa 

Address  to  the  Fighters  of  France  .    .   Anatole  France   38 

July  14,  1915. 

EvivA  L'  Italia William  Archer      42 

July,  1915. 

Russia's  Heart Michael  Rodzianko      46 

August  1,  1915. 

The  War  and  the  Jews  ....       Israel  Zangwill      49 

August,  1915. 

America's  Part Sir  Gilbert  Parker      53 

August,  1915. 

Plea  for  Peace Pope  Benedict      56 

August,  1915. 

A  Struggle  between  Two  Worlds        .        .        .  Take  Jonescu      59 
December  16,  1915. 

It  Can  Be  Done David  Lloyd  George      62 

December  20,  1915. 

Belgium's  Debt  to  France     .        .         Henry  Carton  de  Wiart      65 
March  11,  1916. 

Toast  to  Premier  Asquith     ....  Antonio  Salandra      67 
March  28,  1916. 

Toast  to  Italy  and  Signor  Salandra       Herbert  Henry  Asquith      69 
March  28,  1916. 

The  Significance  of  the  Conflict         .        .        .  Baron  Rosen      72 
June,  1916. 

The  Role  of  France  in  This  War       .  Raymond  Poincare      75 

July  14,  1916. 

Verdun Raymond  Poincare      78 

September  13,  1916. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  vii 

PACJK 

The  War's  Legacy  of  Hatred       .        .      Maurice  Maeterlinck      80 
October,  1916. 

France  and  the  New  Commandments    .        .      Paul  Deschanel      84 
October  26,  1916. 

The  Day  of  the  Dead    ....      Maurice  Maeterlinck      88 
November  1,  1916. 

England's  Answer  ....       David  Lloyd  George      90 

December  19,  1916. 

A  League  for  Peace      .....    Woodrow  Wilson      96 
January  22,  1917. 

France  United  in  the  Cause  of  Right        .      Paul  Deschanel    101 
February,  1917. 

America  Breaks  with  Germany      .        .        .    Woodrow  Wilson     104 
February  3,  1917. 

Democracy  and  the  War       ....        Albert  Thomas    106 
February  22,  1917. 

The  President's  War  Message      .        .        .    Woodrow  Wilson     109 
April  2,  1917. 

France  Congratulates  America    .        .  Raymond  Poincare    112 

April  5,  1917. 

Message  to  America       ....       David  Lloyd  George    114 
April  6,  1917. 

Greetings  from  a  Sister  Republic      M.  Ribot  and  M.  Deschanel    116 
April  6,  1917. 

America,  a  Beacon  Light  of  Peace       .      Gabriele  D'Annunzio    121 
April  8,  1917. 

America  Enters  the  War      .        .        .       David  Lloyd  George    124 
April  12,  1917. 


Viii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAOB 

Great  Days  for  the  Republic       .        .        Walter  Hines  Page    127 
April  12,  1917. 

Comrades  in  a  Common  Cause      .        .        .  Bishop  Brent    129 

April  20,  1917. 

France  Gives  You  Greeting  ....    Rene  Viviani     131 

April  27,  1917. 

The  Flag  on  the  Firing  Line        .        .       Theodore  Roosevelt    134 
April  28,  1917. 

The  Rights  of  Mankind         .        .        .       Theodore  Roosevelt    137 
April  28,  1917. 

Rene  Viviani  ") 
At  the  Tomb  of  Washington         .        ,  .  _  >     140 

Arthur  James  Balfour  J 

April  29,  1917. 

Our  Heritage  of  Liberty Rene  Viviani     143 

May  1,  1917. 

The  Oldest  Free  Assemblies         .  Arthur  James  Balfour     146 

May  5,  1917. 

^  ,  Thomas  R.  Marshall  )      ,  ^ 

Champions  of  Liberty    ...  _  ,,         r     150 

Prince  Udine  J 

May  31,  1917. 

^  Thomas  R.  Marshall  ■)      ,__ 

Liberty  or  Death   ....  _  ,,  >     155 

Baron  Moncheur  J 

June  22,  1917. 

Slaves  or  Freemen  ?      .        .        .        .       Alexander  Kerensky     160 
May,  1917. 

America  Greets  the  Russian  Republic         .    Woodrow  Wilson     164 
June  11,  1917. 

The  Voice  of  American  Labor      .        .        .      Samuel  Gompers    166 
May  6,  1917. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS  IX 

PAOB 

.    -,  c«  Thomas  R.  Marshall  "i      ,,« 

A  Grave  Situation         ...  „  y     169 

Ambassador  Bakhmetieff  i 

June  26,  1917. 

Why  Are  We  Fighting  Germany?        .        .   Franklin  K.  Lane    174 
June  4,  1917. 

Free  from  the  German  Yoke        .  .         Max  F.  Meyer    179 

August  13,  1917. 

The  German-American Hans  Zinsser    181 

October  1,  1917. 

The  Menace  of  Prussianism  .        .  Otto  H.  Kahn     182 

September  26,  1917. 

The  Basis  for  Enduring  Peace    .        .        .   Woodrow  Wilson    187 
August  27,  1917. 

America's  Conditions  for  Peace   .        .         ,   Woodrow  Wilson     191 
January  8,  1918. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

WooDROw  Wilson Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 

Winston  Spencer  Churchill 4 

Herbert  Henry  Asquith 12 

Cardinal  Mercier 24 

Anatole  France 38 

Pope  Benedict  XV 56 

Baron  Romanovitch  Rosen 72 

Maurice  Maeterlinck 88 

Raymond  Poincare 112 

David  Lloyd  George 124 

Rene  Raphael  Viviani 131 

Theodore  Roosevelt 137 

Arthur  J.  Balfour  and  Joseph  H.  Choate         ....  146 

Alexander  Kerensky 160 

Samuel  Gompers 166 

Franklin  K.  Lane 174 


THE   FORUM   OF    DEMOCRACY 


THE  FORUM  OF  DEMOCRACY 

ENGLAND  UNSHEATHES  THE  SWORD 

Premier  Asquith 

My  Lord  Mayor  and  Citizens  of  London :  It  is  three 
and  a  half  years  since  I  last  had  the  honor  of  addressing 
in  this  hall  a  gathering  of  the  citizens.  We  were  then  met 
under  the  Presidency  of  one  of  your  predecessors,  men  of 
all  creeds  and  parties,  to  celebrate  and  approve  the  joint 
declaration  of  the  two  great  English-speaking  States  that 
for  the  future  any  differences  between  them  should  be 
settled,  if  not  by  agreement,  at  least  by  judicial  inquiry 
and  arbitration,  and  never  in  any  circumstances  by  war. 
Those  of  us  who  hailed  that  great  Eirenicon  between 
the  United  States  and  ourselves  as  a  landmark  on  the 
road  of  progress  were  not  sanguine  enough  to  think, 
or  even  to  hope,  that  the  era  of  war  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  But  still  less  were  we  prepared  to  anticipate  the 
terrible  spectacle  which  now  confronts  us  of  a  contest 
which  for  the  number  and  importance  of  the  powers 

On  September  5,  1914,  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Prime 
Minister  Asquith  addressed  a  great  body  of  people  at  the  Guildhall  in 
London. 

The  Right  Honorable  Herbert  Henry  Asquith  was  born  at  Morley, 
Yorkshire,  in  1852  and  was  educated  at  the  City  of  London  School  and  at 
Balliol  College,  Oxford.  Mr.  Asquith  had  held  many  high  offices  in  the 
gift  of  the  British  nation  before  he  became  Prime  Minister  in  1908.  He 
was  superseded  in  thisoflBce  by  David  Lloyd  George  in  January  of  1917. 

1 


2  THE    FORUM    OF    DEMOCRACY 

engaged,  the  scale  of  their  armaments  and  armies,  the 
width  of  the  theater  of  conflict,  the  outpouring  of  blood 
and  the  loss  of  life,  the  incalculable  toll  of  suffering  levied 
upon  non-combatants,  the  material  and  moral  loss  accu- 
mulating day  by  day  to  the  higher  interests  of  civiHzed 
mankind  —  a  contest  which  in  every  one  of  these  as- 
pects is  without  precedent  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 
We  were  very  confident  three  years  ago  in  the  right- 
ness  of  our  position,  when  we  welcomed  the  new 
securities  for  peace.  We  are  equally  confident  in  it  to- 
day, when  reluctantly,  and  against  our  will,  but  with  a 
clear  judgment  and  a  clean  conscience  we  find  our- 
selves involved  vnth  the  whole  strength  of  this  empire 
in  a  bloody  arbitration  between  might  and  right.  The 
issue  has  passed  out  of  the  domain  of  argument  into 
another  field,  but  let  me  ask  you,  and  through  you  the 
world  outside,  what  would  have  been  our  condition  as  a 
nation  to-day  if  we  had  been  base  enough  through  timid- 
ity or  through  perverted  calculation  of  self-interest,  or 
through  a  paralysis  of  the  sense  of  honor  and  duty  (cheers), 
if  we  had  been  base  enough  to  be  false  to  our  word  and 
faithless  to  our  friends  ? 

Our  eyes  would  have  been  turned  at  this  moment  with 
those  of  the  whole  civilized  world  to  Belgium,  a  small 
State,  which  has  lived  for  more  than  seventy  years  under 
the  several  and  collective  guarantee  to  which  we  in  com- 
mon with  Prussia  and  Austria  were  parties,  and  wo  should 
have  seen  at  the  instance  and  by  the  action  of  two  of  these 
guaranteeing  powers  her  neutrality  violated,  her  inde- 
pendence strangled,  her  territory  made  use  of  as  afford- 
ing the  easiest  and  the  most  convenient  road  to  a  war  of 
unprovoked  aggression  against  France.  We,  the  British 
people,  would  at  this  moment  have  been  standing  by  with 
folded  arms  and  with  such  countenance  as  we  could  com- 


PREMIER    ASQUITH  3 

mand  while  this  small  and  unprotected  State,  in  defense 
of  her  vital  liberties,  made  a  heroic  stand  against  over- 
weening and  overwhelming  force;  we  should  have  been 
admiring  as  detached  spectators  the  siege  of  Liege,  the 
steady  and  manful  resistance  of  a  small  army  to  the  occu- 
pation of  their  capital,  with  its  splendid  traditions  and 
memories,  the  gradual  forcing  back  of  the  patriotic  de- 
fenders of  their  native  land  to  the  ramparts  of  Antwerp, 
countless  outrages  inflicted  by  buccaneering  levies  exacted 
from  the  unoffending  civil  population,  and,  finally,  the 
greatest  crime  concmiitted  against  civihzation  and  culture 
since  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  sack  of  Louvain,  with 
its  buildings,  its  pictures,  its  unique  library,  its  unrivaled 
associations  —  a  shameless  holocaust  of  irreparable  treas- 
ures lit  up  by  blind  barbarian  vengeance.  What  account 
should  we,  the  Government  and  the  people  of  this  country, 
have  been  able  to  render  to  the  tribimal  of  our  national 
conscience  and  sense  of  honor,  if,  in  defiance  of  our 
plighted  and  solemn  obligations,  we  had  endured,  nay, 
if  we  had  not  done  our  best  to  prevent,  yes,  and  to 
avenge  these  intolerable  outrages?  For  my  part  I  say 
that  sooner  than  be  a  silent  witness  —  which  means  in 
effect  a  willing  accomplice  —  of  this  tragic  triumph  of 
force  over  law  and  of  brutality  over  freedom,  I  would  see 
this  country  of  ours  blotted  out  of  the  pages  of  history. 
(Prolonged  cheers.) 


NOW  THE  WAR  HAS   COME 
Winston  Churchill 

This  is  the  same  great  European  war  that  would  have 
been  fought  in  the  year  1909  if  Russia  had  not  humbled 
herself  and  given  way  to  German  threats.  It  is  the  same 
war  that  Sir  Edward  Grey  stopped  last  year.  Now  it 
has  come  upon  us.  If  you  look  back  across  the  long 
periods  of  European  history  to  the  original  cause,  you 
wiU,  I  am  sure,  find  it  in  the  cruel  terms  enforced  upon 
France  in  the  year  1870,  and  in  the  repeated  bullyings 
and  attempts  to  terrorize  France  which  have  been  the 
characteristic  of  German  policy  ever  since.  The  more 
you  study  this  question  the  more  you  will  see  that  the 
use  the  Germans  made  of  their  three  aggressive  and 
victorious  wars  against  Denmark,  against  Austria,  and 
against  France  has  been  such  as  to  make  them  the  terror 
and  the  bully  of  Europe,  the  enemy  and  the  menace  of 
every  small  State  upon  their  borders,  and  a  perpetual 
source  of  unrest  and  disquietude  to  their  powerful  neigh- 
bors.    (Cheers.) 

Now  the  war  has  come,  and  when  it  is  over  let  us  be 
careful  not  to  make  the  same  mistake  or  the  same  sort 

This  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  at  the  London  Opera 
House,  September  II,  1914. 

The  Rifiht  Honorable  Winston  Leonard  Spencer  Churchill  was  born 
November  30,  1874.  He  became  a  member  of  Parliament  in  1900.  In 
turn  he  held  the  following  offices  under  the  British  Crown  —  Under- 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
and  Home  Secretary.  From  1911  to  1915  he  was  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty.     He  is  now  an  officer,  serving  in  the  British  army. 

4 


Winston  Spencer  Churchill 


WINSTON  CHURCHILL  5 

of  mistake  as  Germany  made  when  she  had  France  pros- 
trate at  her  feet  in  1870.  Let  us,  whatever  we  do,  fight 
for  and  work  toward  great  and  sound  principles  for  the 
European  system.  And  the  first  of  those  principles 
which  we  should  keep  before  us  is  the  principle  of  nation- 
ality —  that  is  to  say,  not  the  conquest  or  subjugation 
of  any  great  community  or  of  any  strong  race  of  men, 
but  the  setting  free  of  those  races  which  have  been  sub- 
jugated and  conquered ;  and  if  doubt  arises  about  dis- 
puted areas  of  country  we  should  try  to  settle  their 
ultimate  destination  in  the  reconstruction  of  Europe 
which  must  follow  from  this  war  with  a  fair  regard  to  the 
wishes  and  feelings  of  the  people  who  Hve  in  them. 

That  is  the  aim  which,  if  it  is  achieved,  will  justify 
the  exertions  of  the  war  and  will  make  some  amends  to 
the  world  for  the  loss  and  suffering,  the  agony  of  suffer- 
ing, which  it  has  wrought  and  entailed,  and  which  will 
give  to  those  who  come  after  us  not  only  the  pride  which 
we  hope  they  will  feel  in  remembering  the  martial  achieve- 
ments of  the  present  age  of  Britain,  but  which  will  give 
them  also  a  better  and  fairer  world  to  live  in  and  a  Europe 
free  from  the  causes  of  hatred  and  unrest  which  have 
poisoned  the  comity  of  nations  and  ruptured  the  peace 
of  Christendom. 

I  use  these  words  because  this  is  a  war  in  which  we  are 
all  together,  all  classes,  all  races,  all  States,  principalities, 
dominions,  and  powers  throughout  the  British  Empire 
—  we  are  all  together.  Years  ago  the  elder  Pitt  urged 
upon  his  countrymen  the  compulsive  invocation,  "Be 
one  people."  It  has  taken  us  till  now  to  obey  his  ap- 
peal, but  now  we  are  together,  and  while  we  remain  one 
people  there  are  no  forces  in  the  world  strong  enough  to 
beat  us  down  or  break  us  up.     (Cheers.) 

I  hope,  even  in  this  dark  hour  of  strife  and  struggle, 


6  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

that  the  unity  which  has  been  estabhshed  in  our  country 
under  the  pressure  of  war  will  not  cease  when  the  great 
military  effort  upon  which  we  are  engaged  and  the  great 
moral  causes  which  we  are  pursuing  have  been  achieved. 
I  hope,  and  I  do  not  think  my  hope  is  a  vain  one,  that 
the  forces  which  have  come  together  in  our  islands  and 
throughout  our  empire  may  continue  to  work  together, 
not  only  in  a  miHtary  struggle,  but  to  try  to  make  our 
country  more  quickly  a  happier  and  more  prosperous 
land,  where  social  justice  and  free  institutions  are  more 
firmly  established  than  they  have  been  in  the  past.  If 
that  is  so  we  shall  not  have  fought  in  vain  at  home  as  well 
as  abroad. 

With  these  hopes  and  in  this  belief  I  would  urge  you, 
laying  aside  all  hindrance,  thrusting  away  all  private 
aims,  to  devote  yourselves  unswervingly  and  unflinch- 
ingly to  the  vigorous  and  successful  prosecution  of  the 
war.     (Loud  cheers.) 


BELGIUM'S  PLEA  TO  THE  PRESIDENT 
Henry  Carton  de  Wiart 

Excellency:  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians 
has  charged  us  with  a  special  mission  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

Let  me  say  to  you  how  much  we  feel  ourselves  honored 
to  have  been  called  upon  to  express  the  sentiments  of  our 
King  and  of  our  whole  nation  to  the  illustrious  statesman 
whom  the  American  people  have  called  to  the  highest 
dignity  of  the  Commonwealth. 

As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  have  already  been  able, 
during  a  previous  trip,  to  appreciate  fully  the  noble  vir- 
tues of  the  American  Nation,  and  I  am  happy  to  take 
this  opportunity  to  express  all  the  admiration  with  which 
they  inspire  me. 

Ever  since  her  independence  was  first  established, 
Belgium  has  been  declared  neutral  in  perpetuity.  This 
neutrality  guaranteed  by  the  powers  has  recently  been 
violated  by  one  of  them.  Had  we  consented  to  abandon 
our  neutrality  for  the  benefit  of  one  of  the  belligerents, 
we  would  have  betrayed  our  obligations  toward  the 
others.  And  it  was  the  sense  of  our  international  obliga- 
tions as  well  as  that  of  our  dignity  and  honor  that  has 
driven  us  to  resistance. 


M.  Henry  Carton  de  Wiart,  as  head  of  the  Belgian  "Commission" 
to  the  United  States,  on  September  16,  1914,  addressed  an  appeal  to  the 
President  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  against  German  inhumani' 
ties  to  the  Belgians.  M.  de  Wiart  was  at  the  time  Belgian  Minister  ol 
Justice.     President  Wilson's  reply  follows. 

7 


8  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

The  consequences  suffered  by  the  Belgian  Nation  were 
not  confined  purely  to  the  harm  occasioned  by  the  forced 
march  of  an  invading  army.  This  army  not  only  seized 
a  great  portion  of  our  territory,  but  it  committed  incred- 
ible acts  of  violence,  the  nature  of  which  is  contrary  to  the 
law  of  nations.  Peaceful  inhabitants  were  massacred,  de- 
fenseless women  and  children  were  outraged,  open  and 
undefended  towns  were  destroyed,  historical  and  religious 
monuments  were  reduced  to  dust,  and  the  famous  hbrary 
of  the  University  of  Louvain  was  given  to  the  flames. 

Our  Government  has  appointed  a  judicial  commis- 
sion to  make  an  official  investigation,  so  as  to  examine 
thoroughly  and  impartially  the  facts  and  to  determine 
the  responsibility  thereof,  and  I  will  have  the  honor, 
Excellency,  to  hand  over  to  you  the  proceedings  of  the 
inquiry. 

In  this  frightful  holocaust  which  is  sweeping  all  over 
Europe,  the  United  States  has  adopted  a  neutral  attitude. 
And  it  is  for  this  reason  that  your  country,  standing 
apart  from  either  one  of  the  belligerents,  is  in  the  best 
position  to  judge,  without  bias  or  partiality,  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  war  is  being  waged. 

It  is  at  the  request,  even  at  the  initiative,  of  the  United 
States  that  all  civilized  nations  have  formulated  and 
adopted  at  The  Hague  a  law  regulating  the  laws  and 
usage  of  war. 

We  refuse  to  believe  that  war  has  abolished  the  family 
of  civilized  powers,  or  the  regulations  to  which  they  have 
freely  consented. 

The  American  people  has  always  displayed  its  respect 
for  justice,  its  search  for  progress,  and  an  instinctive 
attachment  for  the  laws  of  humanity.  Therefore,  it 
has  won  a  moral  influence  which  is  recognized  by  the 
entire  world.     It  is  for  this  reason  that  Belgium,  bound 


HENRY   CARTON   DE   WIART  9 

as  she  is  to  you  by  ties  of  commerce  and  increasing  friend- 
ship, turns  to  the  American  people  at  this  time  to  let  you 
know  the  real  truth  of  the  present  situation.  Resolved 
to  continue  unflinching  defense  of  its  sovereignty  and 
independence,  it  deems  it  a  duty  to  bring  to  the  attention 
of  the  civilized  world  the  innumerable  grave  breaches  of 
rights  of  mankind  of  which  she  has  been  a  victim. 

At  the  very  moment  we  were  leaving  Belgium,  the 
King  recalled  to  us  his  trip  to  the  United  States  and  the 
vivid  and  strong  impression  your  powerful  and  virile 
civilization  left  upon  his  mind. 

Our  faith  in  your  fairness,  our  confidence  in  your  jus- 
tice, in  your  spirit  of  generositj'-  and  sympathy  —  all 
these  have  dictated  our  present  mission. 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  REPLY 

Permit  me  to  say  with  what  sincere  pleasure  I  receive 
you  as  representatives  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  a 
people  for  whom  the  people  of  the  United  States  feel  so 
strong  a  friendship  and  admiration,  a  King  for  whom 
they  entertain  so  sincere  a  respect,  and  express  my  hope 
that  we  may  have  many  opportunities  of  earning  and 
deserving  their  regard. 

You  are  not  mistaken  in  believing  that  the  people  of 
this  country  love  justice,  seek  the  true  paths  of  progress, 
and  have  a  passionate  regard  for  the  rights  of  humanity. 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  pride  to  me  that  I  am  per- 
mitted for  a  time  to  represent  such  a  people  and  to  be 
their  spokesman,  and  I  am  proud  that  your  King  should 
have  turned  to  me  in  time  of  distress  as  to  one  who  would 
wish  on  behalf  of  the  people  he  represents  to  consider  the 
claims  to  the  impartial  sympathy  of  mankind  of  a  nation 
which  deems  itself  wronged. 

I  thank  you  for  the  document  you  have  put  in  my 
hands  containing  the  result  of  an  investigation  made  by 
a  judicial  committee  appointed  by  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment to  look  into  the  matter  of  which  you  have  come 

Addressed  to  the  Royal  Belgian  Commission  in  the  White  House, 
September  16,  1914. 

Woodrow  Wilson  was  born  of  Scotch-Irish  parents  at  Staunton, 
Virginia,  Uecomber  28,  1856.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in 
private  schools,  and  he  holds  deRrees  from  a  number  of  large  universi- 
ties. After  practicing  law  for  a  short  time,  he  became  a  teacher,  and 
he  was  made  president  of  Princeton  University  in  1902.  From  Gover- 
nor of  New  Jersey,  to  which  position  he  was  elected  in  1908,  he  became 
President  of  the  United  States  in  1912.     He  was  reelected  in  1916. 

10 


WOODROW  WILSON  11 

to  speak.  It  shall  have  my  utmost  attentive  perusal 
and  my  most  thoughtful  consideration. 

You  will,  I  am  sure,  not  expect  me  to  say  more.  Pres- 
ently, I  pray  God  very  soon,  this  war  will  be  over.  The 
day  of  accounting  will  then  come,  when,  I  take  it  for 
granted,  the  nations  of  Europe  will  assemble  to  determine 
a  settlement.  Where  wrongs  have  been  committed  their 
consequences  and  the  relative  responsibiHty  involved  will 
be  assessed. 

The  nations  of  the  world  have,  fortunately,  by  agree- 
ment made  a  plan  for  such  a  reckoning  and  settlement. 
What  such  a  plan  cannot  compass,  the  opinion  of  man- 
kind, the  final  arbiter  in  such  matters,  will  supply.  It 
would  be  unwise,  it  would  be  premature,  for  a  single 
Government,  however  fortunately  separated  from  the 
present  struggle,  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  neu- 
tral position  of  any  nation,  which,  like  this,  has  no  part 
in  the  contest,  to  form  or  express  a  final  judgment. 

I  need  not  assure  you  that  this  conclusion,  in  which  I 
instinctively  feel  that  you  will  yourselves  concur,  is 
spoken  frankly  because  in  warm  friendship,  and  as  the 
best  means  of  perfect  understanding  between  us,  an  under- 
standing based  upon  mutual  respect,  admiration,  and 
cordiality. 

You  are  most  welcome,  and  we  are  greatly  honored  that 
you  should  have  chosen  us  as  the  friends  before  whom 
you  could  lay  any  matter  of  vital  consequence  to  your- 
selves, in  the  confidence  that  your  cause  would  be  under- 
stood and  met  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  it  was  conceived 
and  intended. 


THE  PLAIN  DICTATES  OF  OUR  DUTY 
Herbert  Henry  Asquith 

Four  weeks  ago,  speaking  at  the  Guildhall,  in  the  City 
of  London,  when  the  war  was  still  in  its  early  days,  I 
asked  my  fellow  countrymen  with  what  countenance, 
with  what  conscience,  had  we  basely  chosen  to  stand  aloof, 
we  could  have  watched  from  day  to  day  the  terrible  un- 
rolling of  events  —  public  faith  shamelessly  broken,  the 
freedom  of  a  small  people  trodden  in  the  dust,  the  wanton 
invasion  of  Belgium  and  then  of  France  by  hordes  who 
leave  behind  them  at  every  stage  of  their  progress  a  dis- 
mal trail  of  savagery,  of  devastation,  and  of  desecration 
worthy  of  the  blackest  annals  in  the  history  of  barbarism. 
That  was  four  weeks  ago.  The  war  has  now  lasted  for 
sixty  days,  and  every  one  of  those  days  has  added  to 
the  picture  its  share  of  somber  and  repulsive  traits.  We 
now  see  clearly  written  down  in  letters  of  carnage  and 
spohation  the  real  aims  and  methods  of  this  long-prepared 
and  well-organized  scheme  against  the  liberties  of  Europe. 
(Cheers.) 

I  say  nothing  of  other  countries.  I  pass  no  judgment 
upon  them.  But  if  we  here  in  Great  Britain  had  abstained 
and  remained  neutral,  forsworn  our  word,  deserted  our 
friends,  faltered  and  compromised  with  the  plain  dictates 
of  our  duty  —  nay,  if  we  had  not  shown  ourselves  ready 
to  strike  with  all  our  forces  at  the  common  enemy  of 
civilization  and  freedom,  there  would  have  been  nothing 
left  for  our  country  but  to  veil  her  face  in  shame  and  to  be 

In  the  fall  of  1914  Mr.  Asquith  made  a  tour  of  the  British  Isles 
"BummrjiiiriK  the  nation  to  war."  This  is  an  extract  of  his  speech  at 
Cardiff  on  October  2,  1914. 

12 


Herbert  Henry  Asquith 


HERBERT   HENRY  ASQUITH  13 

ready  in  her  turn  —  for  her  time  would  have  come  —  to 
share  the  doom  which  she  would  have  richly  deserved, 
and  after  centuries  of  glorious  Hfe  to  go  down  to  hei 
grave,  unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung.     (Loud  cheers.) 

Let  us  gladly  acknowledge  what  becomes  clearer  and 
clearer  every  day,  that  the  world  is  just  as  ready  as  it 
ever  was  and  no  part  of  it  readier  than  the  British  Empire, 
to  understand  and  to  respond  to  moral  issues.  The  new 
school  of  German  thought  has  been  teaching  for  a  gen- 
eration past  that  in  affairs  of  nations  there  is  no  code  of 
ethics.  According  to  their  doctrine  force  and  nothing 
but  force  is  the  test  and  the  measure  of  right.  As  the 
events  which  are  going  on  before  our  eyes  have  made  it 
plain,  they  have  succeeded  only  too  well  in  indoctrinating 
with  their  creed  —  I  will  not  say  the  people  of  Germany ; 
like  Burke,  I  will  not  attempt  to  draw  up  an  indictment 
against  a  nation  —  I  will  not  say  the  people  of  Germany, 
but  those  who  control  and  execute  German  policy. 
(Cheers.) 

But  it  is  one  of  those  products  of  German  genius 
which,  whether  or  not  it  was  intended  exclusively  for 
home  consumption,  has  not,  I  am  happy  to  say,  found  a 
market  abroad,  and  certainly  not  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  British  Empire.  We  still  believe  here,  old-fash- 
ioned people  as  we  are,  in  the  sanctity  of  treaties,  that 
the  weak  have  rights  and  that  the  strong  have  duties, 
that  small  nationalities  have  every  bit  as  good  a  title  as 
large  ones  to  hfe  and  independence,  and  that  freedom  for 
its  own  sake  is  as  well  worth  fighting  for  to-day  as  it  ever 
was  in  the  past.  And  we  look  forward  at  the  end  of  this 
war  to  a  Europe  in  which  these  great  and  simple  and  ven- 
erable truths  will  be  recognized  and  safeguarded  forever 
against  the  recrudescence  of  the  era  of  blood  and  iron. 
(Cheers.) 


THE  SOLDIER  OF   1914 

Rene  Doumic 
Extract  One 

The  soldier  of  1914.  We  think  only  of  him.  We  live 
only  for  him,  just  as  we  live  only  through  him.  I  have 
not  chosen  this  subject;  it  has  forced  itself  upon  me. 
My  only  regret  is  that  I  come  here  in  academician's 
costume,  with  its  useless  sword,  to  speak  to  you  about 
those  whose  uniforms  are  torn  by  bullets,  whose  rifles 
are  black  with  powder. 

And  I  am  ashamed,  above  all,  of  placing  so  feeble  a 
voice  at  the  service  of  so  great  a  cause.  But  what  do 
words  matter,  when  the  most  brilhant  of  them  would 
pale  before  acts  of  which  each  day  makes  us  the  wit- 
nesses? For  these  acts  we  have  only  words,  but  let  us 
hope  that  these,  coming  from  the  heart,  may  bring  to 
those  who  are  fighting  for  their  country  somewhere 
near  the  frontier  the  spirit  of  our  gratitude  and  the 
fervor  of  our  admiration. 

Our  history  is  nothing  but  the  history  of  French  valor, 
so  ingenious  in  adopting  new  forms  and  adapting  itself 
each  time  to  the  changing  conditions  of  warfare.     Sol- 

Ren6  Doumic,  celebrated  critic  and  Member  of  the  French  Academy, 
delivered  this  wonderful  address  to  the  Academy  on  October  26,  1914. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  Paris  Figaro,  "every  sentence,  every]  word 
of  it  was  punctuated  with  acclamations  from  the  audience." 

We  have  taken  two  cuttings  from  this  famous  address.  The  other 
will  be  found  under  the  same  caption,  but  marked  Extract  Two.  The 
speech  will  be  found  in  its  entirety  in  Volume  I  of  the  Current  History 
Magazine. 

14 


RENfi   DOUMIC  15 

diers  of  the  King  or  of  the  repubhc,  old  "grognards"  of 
Napoleon,  who  always  growled  yet  followed  just  the 
same,  youngsters  who  bit  their  cartridges  with  childish 
lips,  veterans  of  fights  in  Africa,  cuirassiers  of  Reichs- 
hofen,  gardes-mobiles  of  the  Loire,  all,  at  the  moment  of 
duty  and  sacrifice,  did  everything  that  France  expected 
of  her  sons. 

So,  too,  for  this  war,  the  soldier  needed  has  arisen. 
After  so  many  heroics  he  has  invented  a  new  form  of 
heroism. 

I  say  the  soldier,  for  the  soldier  is  what  one  must  say. 
Here  begins  what  is  clearly  expressed  in  one  phrase  only 
—  the  French  miracle.  This  national  union  in  which  all 
opinions  have  become  fused  is  merely  a  reflection  of  the 
unity  which  has  been  suddenly  created  in  our  army. 

When  war  broke  out  it  found  military  France  ready 
and  armed ;  mere  troopers,  officers  none  of  whom  ever 
thought  that  he  would  one  day  lead  his  men  under  fire, 
and  that  admirable  General  Staff  which,  never  allowing 
itself  to  be  deflected  from  its  purpose,  did  its  work  silent 
and  aloof. 

But  there  was  beside  this  France  another  France,  the 
France  of  civilians,  accustomed  by  long  years  of  peace 
to  disbelieve  in  war;  which,  in  conjuring  up  a  picture  of 
Europe  dehvered  over  to  fire  and  blood,  could  not  con- 
ceive that  any  human  being  in  the  world  would  assume  the 
responsibihty  for  such  an  act  before  history.  War  sur- 
prised the  employee  at  his  desk,  the  workman  in  his  work- 
shop, the  peasant  in  his  field.  It  snatched  them  from  the 
intimacy  of  their  hearths,  from  the  amenities  of  family 
life  which  in  France  is  sweeter  than  elsewhere.  These 
men  were  obhged  to  leave  behind  beings  whom  they  loved 
tenderly.  For  the  last  time  they  clasped  in  their  arms  the 
beloved  partners  of  their  lives,  so  deeply  moved  yet  so 


10  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

proud,  and  their  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  have  under- 
stood and  will  never  forget.  And  all  of  them,  artist  and 
artisan,  priest  and  teacher,  those  who  dreamed  of  revenge 
and  those  who  dreamed  of  the  fraternity  of  nations,  those 
of  every  age,  as  they  stepped  into  their  places,  were  en- 
dowed with  the  soul  of  the  soldier  of  France,  every  one 
of  them,  and  became  thus  the  same  soldier. 

The  war  which  lay  in  wait  for  these  men,  many  of 
whom  did  not  seem  made  for  war,  was  a  war  of  which 
nobody  had  ever  seen  the  like.  We  have  heard  tell  of 
wars  of  giants,  of  battles  of  nations,  but  nobody  had  ever 
seen  a  war  extending  from  the  Marne  to  the  Vistula,  nor 
battles  with  a  front  of  hundreds  of  kilometers,  lasting 
weeks  without  respite  day  or  night,  fought  by  millions  of 
men.  Never  in  its  worst  nightmares  had  hallucinated 
imagination  conjured  up  the  progress  made  in  the  art  of 
mowing  down  human  hves.  The  German  Army,  to 
which  the  German  Nation  has  never  refused  anything, 
either  moral  support  or  money,  the  nerve  of  war,  has 
been  able  to  profit  by  all  this  progress,  to  reduce  to  a 
formula  the  violence  which  drives  forward  the  attack, 
to  prepare  the  spy  sj'stem  which  watches  over  the  un- 
armed foe,  to  organize  even  incendiarism,  and  to  become 
thus,  forged  by  forty-four  years  of  hatred,  the  most  for- 
midable tool  of  destruction  that  has  ever  sown  ruin  and 
death. 

The  Germans  arrived,  with  the  irresistible  impetus  of 
their  masses,  with  the  fury  of  a  tempest,  with  the  roar 
of  thunder,  enraged  at  having  been  confronted  on  their 
road  by  that  little  Belgian  Nation  which  has  just  inscribed 
its  name  among  the  first  on  the  roster  of  heroism.  Already 
the  German  chiefs  imagined  themselves  lords  of  Paris, 
which  they  threatened  to  reduce  to  ashes  —  and  which 
did  not  tremble. 


RENE    DOUMIC  17 

It  was  to  meet  this  colossus  of  war  that  our  little  sol- 
dier marched  forth.     And  he  made  it  fall  back. 

To  this  new  war  he  brings  his  old  qualities  of  all  time. 
Courage  —  let  us  not  speak  of  that.  Can  one  speak  of 
courage?  Just  read  the  short  sentences  in  the  army 
orders. 

Corporal  Voituret  of  the  Second  Dragoons,  mortally 
wounded  on  a  reconnaissance,  cries:  "Yive  la  France! 
I  die  for  her!  I  die  happy!"  Private  Chabannes  of 
the  Eighteenth  Chasseurs,  unhorsed  and  wounded, 
replies  to  the  Major  who  asks  him  why  he  had  not  sur- 
rendered:  "We  Frenchmen  never  surrender!"  And 
remember  those  who,  mortally  wounded,  stick  to  their 
posts  so  as  to  fight  to  the  end  with  their  men,  and  those 
wounded  men  who  have  but  one  desire  —  every  one  of 
us  can  vouch  for  this  —  to  return  to  the  firing  line ! 
And  that  one  who,  hopelessly  mutilated,  said  to  me : 
"It  is  not  being  crippled  that  hurts  me ;  it  is  that  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  see  the  best  part  of  the  thing!"  These, 
and  the  others,  the  thousands  of  others,  shall  we  speak  of 
their  courage  ?  —  what  would  it  mean  to  speak  of  their 
courage  ? 

And  the  dash  of  them !  —  the  only  criticism  to  which 
they  lay  themselves  open  is  that  they  are  too  fiery,  that 
they  do  not  wait  the  right  moment  for  the  charge,  in 
order  to  drive  back  the  enemy  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
What  spirit !  What  gayety !  All  the  letters  from  our 
soldiers  are  overflowing  with  cheerfulness.  Where,  for 
instance,  does  that  nickname  come  from  applied  by  them 
to  the  enemy  —  the  "Boches"?  It  comes  from  where  so 
many  more  have  come ;  its  author  is  nobody  and  every- 
body ;  it  is  the  spontaneous  product  of  that  Gallic  humor 
which  jokes  at  danger,  takes  liberties  with  it. 

What   pride !    What   sense   of   honor !    Whereas   the 


18  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

German  officer,  posted  behind  his  men,  drives  them  for- 
ward hke  a  flock  of  sheep,  revolver  in  his  hand  and  in- 
sults on  his  Hps,  we,  on  our  side,  hear  nothing  but  those 
beautiful,  those  radiant  words:  "Forward!  For  your 
country!"  —  the  call  of  the  French  officer  to  his  chil- 
dren, whom  he  impels  forward  by  giving  them  the  exam- 
ple, by  plunging  under  fire  first,  before  all  of  them,  at 
their  head. 

And  —  supreme  adornment  of  all  —  with  what  grace 
they  deck  their  gallantry!  A  few  seconds  before  being 
killed  by  an  exploding  shell.  Colonel  Doury,  ordered  to  re- 
sist to  the  last  gasp,  replies  :  "All  right !  We  will  resist. 
And  now,  boys,  here  is  the  password:  Smile!"  It  is 
hke  a  flower  thrown  on  the  scientific  brutahty  of  modern 
war,  that  memory  of  the  days  when  men  went  to  war 
with  lace  on  their  sleeves.  There  we  recognize  the  French 
soldier  such  as  we  have  always  known  him  through  fif- 
teen centuries  of  the  history  of  France. 


THE  SOLDIER  OF   1914 
Rene  Doumic 

Extract  Two 

Let  us  say  it  in  a  word  :  Never  have  great  things  been 
done  so  simply. 

The  soldier  of  1914  knows  why  he  is  fighting.  It  is  not 
for  the  ambition  of  a  sovereign  nor  the  impatience  of  his 
heir,  not  for  the  arrogance  of  a  caste  of  country  squires  nor 
for  the  profit  of  a  firm  of  merchants.  No ;  he  fights  for 
the  land  where  he  was  born  and  where  his  dead  sleep; 
he  fights  to  free  his  invaded  country  and  give  her  back 
her  lost  provinces,  for  her  past,  struck  to  the  heart  by 
the  shells  that  bombarded  the  Cathedral  of  Rheims ;  he 
fights  so  that  his  children  may  have  the  right  to  think, 
speak,  and  feel  in  French,  so  that  there  may  still  be  in 
the  world  a  French  race,  which  the  world  needs.  For 
this  war  of  destruction  is  aimed  at  the  destruction  of  our 
race,  and  our  race  has  been  moved  to  its  depths.  It 
has  risen  as  one  man  strong  and  united ;  it  has  called 
up  from  its  remotest  history  all  its  energy,  in  order  to 
reincarnate  them  in  the  person  of  him  whose  duty  is  to 
defend  the  race  to-day ;  it  has  inspired  in  him  the  valor  of 
the  knights  of  old,  the  endurance  of  the  laborer  bending 
over  his  furrow,  the  modesty  of  the  old  masters  who  made 
of  our  cathedrals  masterpieces  of  anonymity,  the  honesty 
of  the  bourgeois,  the  patience  of  humble  folk,  the  con- 
sciousness of  duty  which  mothers  teach  to  their  children, 
all  those  virtues  which,  developed  from  one  generation  to 

19 


20  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

another,  become  a  tradition,  the  tradition  of  an  industrious 
people,  made  strong  by  a  long  past  and  made  to  endure. 
It  is  these  qualities,  all  of  them  together,  which  we  ad- 
mire in  the  soldier  of  1914,  the  complete  and  superb  type 
of  the  entire  race. 

When  it  has  such  an  aim,  the  noblest  of  all,  war  is 
subhme ;  all  who  go  into  it  are  as  if  transfigured.  It 
exalts,  expands,  and  purifies  souls.  On  approaching  the 
battlefield  a  holy  intoxication,  a  holy  happiness,  takes 
possession  of  those  for  whom  has  been  reserved  the  su- 
preme joy  of  braving  death  for  their  country.  Death  is 
everywhere,  but  they  do  not  believe  in  it  any  more. 
And  when,  on  certain  mornings,  to  the  sound  of  cannon 
that  mix  their  rumblings  with  mystic  voices  of  bells,  in 
the  devastated  church  which  cries  to  the  heavens  through 
every  breach  opened  in  its  walls,  the  Chaplain  blesses  the 
regiment  that  he  will  accompany  the  next  minute  to  the 
firing  line,  every  head  will  be  bent  at  the  same  time  and 
all  will  feel  on  their  brows  the  breath  of  God. 

Alas !  the  beauty  of  the  struggle  does  not  hide  from 
me  its  sadness.  How  many  went  away,  full  of  youth  and 
hope,  to  return  no  more.  How  many  have  fallen  already 
without  seeing  realized  what  they  so  ardently  desired; 
sowers  they,  who  to  make  the  land  fertile  have  watered 
it  with  their  blood,  yet  will  not  see  the  harvest. 

But  at  least  their  sacrifice  will  not  have  been  in 
vain.  They  have  brought  unity  to  their  divided  coun- 
try, they  have  made  her  become  conscious  of  herself 
again,  they  have  made  her  learn  enthusiasm  once  again. 
They  have  not  seen  victory,  but  they  have  merited  it. 
Honor  to  them,  struck  down  first,  and  glory  to  those  who 
will  avenge  them !  We  enfold  them  both  in  our  devo- 
tion to  the  same  sacred  cause. 

Would  that  a  new  era  might  dawn,  thanks  to  them, 


RENfi   DOUMIC  21 

that  a  new  world  might  be  born  in  which  we  might  breathe 
more  freely,  where  injustices  centuries  old  might  be 
made  good,  where  France,  arising  from  long  humiliation, 
might  resume  her  rank  and  destiny !  Then,  in  that  France, 
healed  and  revived,  what  an  awakening,  what  a  renewal, 
what  a  sap,  what  a  magnificent  flowering  there  would 
be !  This  will  be  thy  work,  soldier  of  1914 !  To  you  we 
shall  owe  this  resurrection  of  our  beloved  country.  And 
later  on,  and  always,  in  everything  beautiful  and  good 
that  may  be  done  among  us,  in  the  creations  of  our  poets 
and  the  discoveries  of  our  savants,  in  the  thousand  forms 
of  national  activity,  in  the  strength  of  our  young  men 
and  the  grace  of  our  young  women,  in  all  that  will  be 
the  France  of  to-morrow,  there  will  be,  soldier  so  brave 
and  so  simple  in  your  greatness,  a  little  of  your  heroic 
soul! 


CERTAINTY  OF  VICTORY 

Rene  Raphael  Viviani 

Faithful  to  the  signature  which  she  attached  to  the 
treaty  of  September  4,  1914,  and  by  which  she  engaged 
her  honor,  that  is  to  say,  her  hfe,  France,  in  accord  with 
her  alhes,  will  not  lay  down  her  arms  until  she  has  avenged 
outraged  right  and  regained  forever  the  provinces  which 
were  torn  from  her  by  force,  restored  heroic  Belgium  to 
the  fullness  of  her  material  prosperity  and  pohtical  inde- 
pendence, and  broken  Prussian  mihtarism  so  that  the 
Allies  may  eventually  reconstruct  a  regenerated  Europe 
founded  upon  justice  and  right. 

We  are  not  inspired,  gentlemen,  in  this  plan  of  war 
and  of  peace  by  any  presumptuous  hope,  for  we  have  the 
certainty  of  success.  We  owe  this  certitude  to  our  army 
of  all  ranks  and  to  our  sailors,  who,  joined  to  the  British 
Navy,  secure  for  us  the  control  of  the  seas,  and  to  the 

On  December  22,  1914,  Rang  Viviani,  then  Premier  of  France,  de- 
livered in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  an  address  of  world-wade  interest, 
a  part  of  which  is  printed  below.  In  this  speech  Viviani  served  notice 
on  Germany  and  Austria  that  France  was  in  the  conflict  until  it  became 
possible  for  France  and  her  allies  to  dictate  terms  of  peace. 

Viviani  became  Premier  of  France  immediately  after  the  outbreak 
of  the  war,  but  was  succeeded  by  Aristide  Briand  in  1915.  He  has  been 
called  "Europe's  foremost  orator." 

Contrast  these  lofty  .sentiments  with  those  expressed  by  the  German 
editor  Maximilian  Harden,  in  the  New  Yorker  Revue  (1915). 

"We  are  waging  war  for  ourselves  alone.  .  .  .  We  need  land,  free 
roads  to  the  ocean,  and  for  the  spirit  and  language  and  wares  and  trade 
of  Germany  we  need  the  same  values  that  are  accorded  such  goods  any- 
where else." 

22 


RENfi   RAPHAEL  VIVIANI  23 

troops  who  have  repulsed  in  Morocco  incessant  aggres- 
sions. 

We  owe  it  also  to  the  soldiers  who  defend  our  flag  in 
those  far-off  French  colonies,  who  from  the  very  first 
outbreak  of  the  war  hastened  back  with  their  tender 
soKcitude  for  the  mother  country. 

We  owe  it  to  our  army,  whose  heroism  has  been  guided 
by  incomparable  leaders  throughout  the  victory  of  the 
Marne,  the  victory  of  Flanders,  and  in  many  fights,  and 
we  owe  it  to  the  nation,  which  has  equaled  this  heroism 
by  a  corresponding  demonstration  of  silence  and  serenity 
during  the  critical  hours  through  which  the  country  has 
passed.  Thus  we  have  shown  to  the  world  that  an  organ- 
ized democracy  can  serve  by  its  vigorous  action  the  ideal 
of  liberty  and  equality  which  constitute  its  greatness. 
Thus  we  have  shown  to  the  world,  to  use  the  words  of 
our  Commander  in  Chief,  who  is  both  a  great  soldier 
and  a  noble  citizen,  that  "the  repubhc  may  well  be  proud 
of  the  army  that  she  has  prepared."  And  thus  this 
impious  war  has  brought  out  all  the  virtues  of  our  race, 
both  those  with  which  we  were  credited  —  of  initiative, 
elan,  bravery,  and  fearlessness  —  and  those  which  we 
were  not  supposed  to  possess  —  endurance,  patience, 
and  stoicism. 

Let  us  do  honor  to  all  these  heroes.  Glory  to  those 
who  have  fallen  before  the  victory,  and  to  those  also  who 
through  victory  will  avenge  them  to-morrow !  A  nation 
which  can  arouse  such  enthusiasm  can  never  perish. 


BELGIUM  SHALL  RISE 
Cardinal  Mercier 

My  dearest  brethren,  I  desire  to  utter,  in  your  name 
and  my  own,  the  gratitude  of  those  whose  age,  vocation, 
and  social  conditions  cause  them  to  benefit  by  the  heroism 
of  others,  without  bearing  in  it  any  active  part. 

If  any  man  had  rescued  you  from  shipwreck  or  from 
fire,  you  would  assuredly  hold  yourselves  bound  to  him 
by  a  debt  of  everlasting  thankfulness.  But  it  is  not  one 
man,  it  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  who 
fought,  who  suffered,  who  fell  for  you,  so  that  Belgium 
might  keep  her  independence,  her  dynasty,  her  patriotic 
unity;  so  that  after  the  vicissitudes  of  battle  she  might 
rise  nobler,  purer,  more  erect,  and  more  glorious  than 
before. 

In  your  name  I  sent  them  the  greeting  of  our  fraternal 
sympathy  and  our  assurance  that  not  only  do  we  pray 
for  the  success  of  their  arms  and  for  the  eternal  welfare 
of  their  souls,  but  that  we  also  accept  for  their  sake  all 
the  distress,  whether  physical  or  moral,  that  falls  to  our 
own  share  in  the  oppression  that  hourly  besets  us,  and  all 
that  the  future  may  have  in  store  for  us,  in  humiliation 
for  a  time,  in  anxiety,  and  in  sorrow.  In  the  day  of  final 
victory  we  shall  be  in  honor ;  it  is  just  that  to-day  we 
should  all  be  in  grief. 

Extract  from  the  famous  pastoral  letter  of  Cardinal  Mercier,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1914.  Since  the  first  atrocities  in  Belgium  Cardinal  Mercier  has 
stood  forth,  a  tower  of  strength  among  his  stricken  fellow-countrymen, 
fearless,  helpful,  defiant,  uncowed  by  vengeful  threats,  constantly  giving 
aid  by  word  and  deed  to  his  beloved  land. 

24 


Cardinal  Mercier 


CARDINAL   MERCIER  25 

Oh,  all  too  easily  do  I  understand  how  natural 
instinct  rebels  against  the  evils  that  have  fallen  upon 
Belgium;  the  spontaneous  thought  of  mankind  is  ever 
that  virtue  should  have  its  instantaneous  crown,  and 
injustice  its  immediate  retribution.  But  the  ways  of 
God  are  not  our  ways.  Providence  gives  free  way,  for 
a  time  measured  by  divine  wisdom,  to  human  passions 
and  the  conflict  of  desires.  God,  being  eternal,  is  patient. 
The  last  word  is  the  word  of  mercy,  and  it  belongs  to  those 
who  believe  in  love. 

Better  than  any  other  man,  perhaps,  do  I  know  what 
our  country  has  undergone.  These  four  last  months 
have  seemed  to  me  age-long.  By  thousands  have  our 
brave  ones  been  mown  down ;  wives,  mothers,  are  weep- 
ing for  those  they  shall  never  see  again ;  hearths  are 
desolate;  dire  poverty  spreads;  anguish  increases.  I 
have  traversed  the  greater  part  of  the  districts  most  ter- 
ribly devastated  in  my  diocese;  and  the  ruins  I  beheld 
were  more  dreadful  than  I,  prepared  by  the  saddest  of 
forebodings,  could  have  imagined.  Churches,  schools, 
asylums,  hospitals,  convents,  in  great  numbers,  are  in 
ruins.     Entire  villages  have  all  but  disappeared. 

In  the  dear  city  of  Lou  vain,  perpetually  in  my  thoughts, 
the  magnificent  church  of  St.  Peter  will  never  recover 
its  former  splendor.  The  ancient  college  of  St.  Ives, 
the  art  schools,  the  consular  and  commercial  schools  of 
the  University,  the  old  markets,  our  rich  library  with  its 
collections,  its  unique  and  unpublished  manuscripts,  its 
archives,  its  galleries  —  all  this  accumulation  of  intel- 
lectual, of  historic,  of  artistic  riches,  the  fruits  of  the  labor 
of  five  centuries  —  all  is  in  the  dust. 

Many  a  parish  has  lost  its  pastor.  In  my  diocese 
alone  I  know  that  thirteen  priests  were  put  to  death. 
Thousands  of  Belgian   citizens  have   been  deported    to 


26  THE   FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

the  prisons  of  Germany.  Hundreds  of  innocent  men 
have  been  shot  or  burned.  We  can  neither  number  our 
dead  nor  complete  the  measure  of  our  ruins. 

And  there  where  hves  were  not  taken,  and  there  where 
the  stones  of  buildings  were  not  thrown  down,  what 
anguish  unrevealed !  FamiUes,  hitherto  living  at  ease, 
now  in  bitter  want ;  all  commerce  at  an  end ;  all  careers 
ruined ;  industry  at  a  standstill ;  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  workingmen  without  employment;  working- 
women,  shop  girls,  humble  servant  girls,  without  the 
means  of  earning  their  bread ;  and  poor  souls  forlorn  on 
the  bed  of  sickness  and  fever,  crying,  ''O  Lord,  how  long, 
how  long?"  There  is  nothing  to  reply.  The  reply 
remains  the  secret  of  God. 

Yes,  dearest  brethren,  it  is  the  secret  of  God.  He  is 
the  master  of  events  and  the  sovereign  director  of  the 
human  multitude.  As  for  us,  my  brethren,  we  will 
adore  Him  in  the  integrity  of  our  souls.  Not  yet  do  we 
see,  in  all  its  magnificence,  the  revelation  of  His  wisdom, 
but  our  faith  trusts  Him  with  it  all.  Before  His  justice 
we  are  humble,  and  in  His  mercy  hopeful. 

God  will  save  Belgium,  my  brethren,  you  cannot 
doubt  it.  Nay,  rather.  He  is  saving  her.  Across  the 
smoke  of  conflagration,  across  the  stream  of  blood,  have 
you  not  glimpses,  do  you  not  perceive,  signs  of  His  love 
for  us?  Is  there  a  patriot  among  us  who  does  not  know 
that  Belgium  has  grown  great?  Nay,  which  of  us  would 
have  the  heart  to  cancel  this  last  page  in  the  national 
history?  Which  of  us  does  not  exult  in  the  brightness  of 
the  glory  of  this  shattered  nation?  When  a  mighty 
foreign  power,  confident  in  its  own  strength  and  defiant 
of  the  faith  of  treaties,  dared  to  threaten  us  in  our  inde- 
pendence, then  did  all  Belgians  rise  as  one  man. 

Belgium  gave  her  word  of  honor  to  defend  her  inde- 


CARDINAL  MERCIER  27 

pendence.  She  kept  her  word.  The  other  Powers  had 
agreed  to  protect  and  to  respect  Belgian  neutrahty. 
Germany  has  broken  her  word ;  England  has  been  faith- 
ful to  it.  These  are  the  facts.  We  should  have  acted 
unworthily  had  we  evaded  our  obligation.  And  now  we 
would  not  rescind  our  first  resolution;  we  exult  in  it. 
Being  called  upon  to  write  a  most  solemn  page  in  the 
history  of  our  country,  we  resolved  that  it  should  be  also 
a  sincere,  also  a  glorious  page.  And  as  long  as  we  are 
compelled  to  give  proof  of  endurance,  so  long  we  shall 
endure. 

Truce  then,  my  brethren,  to  all  murmurs  of  complaint. 
Not  only  to  the  Redeemer's  example  shall  you  look  but 
also  to  that  of  the  thirty  thousand,  perhaps  forty  thou- 
sand, men  who  have  already  shed  their  life  blood  for  their 
country.  In  comparison  with  them  what  have  you  en- 
dured who  are  deprived  of  the  daily  comforts  of  your 
lives  ?  Let  the  patriotism  of  our  army,  the  heroism  of  our 
King  and  of  our  beloved  Queen,  serve  to  stimulate  us 
and  support  us.  Let  us  bemoan  ourselves  no  more.  Let 
us  deserve  the  coming  deliverance.  Let  us  hasten  it  by 
our  prayers.  Courage,  brethren.  Suffering  passes  away ; 
the  crown  of  life  for  our  souls,  the  crown  of  glory  for  our 
nation,  shall  not  pass. 


THERE  MUST  BE  NO  DELAY 

David  Lloyd  George 

This  is  an  engineers*  war,  and  it  will  be  won  or  lost 
owing  to  the  efforts  or  shortcomings  of  engineers.  Unless 
we  are  able  to  equip  our  armies  our  predominance  in  men 
will  avail  us  nothing.  We  need  men,  but  we  need  arms 
more  than  men,  and  delay  in  producing  them  is  full  of 
peril  for  this  country.  You  may  say  that  I  am  saying 
things  that  ought  to  be  kept  from  the  enemy.  I  am  not 
a  behever  in  giving  any  information  which  is  useful  to 
him.  You  may  depend  on  it  he  knows,  but  I  do  not 
believe  in  withholding  from  our  own  public  information 
which  they  ought  to  possess,  because  unless  you  tell  them 
you  cannot  invite  their  cooperation.  The  nation  that 
cannot  bear  the  truth  is  not  fit  for  war,  and  may  our 
young  men  be  volunteers,  while  the  unflinching  pride  of 
those  they  have  left  behind  them  in  their  deed  of  sacrifice 
ought  to  satisfy  the  most  apprehensive  that  we  are  not  a 
timid  race,  who  cannot  face  unpleasant  facts  !  The  last 
thing  in  the  world  John  Bull  wants  is  to  be  mollycoddled. 
The  people  must  be  told  exactly  what  the  position  is, 

This  warning  against  strikes  was  delivered  to  the  British  Nation  at 
Bangor  on  February  28,  1915. 

The  Right  Honorable  David  Lloyd  George  was  born  in  Manchester 
in  1863  and  was  educated  at  Llanystymdwy  Church  School  and  by  a 
private  tutor.  He  is  the  son  of  a  Unitarian  schoolmaster.  From  1908- 
1915  he  was  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  In  1915  he  became  Minister 
of  Munitions  and  held  this  office  until  December,  1916,  when  the  Asquith 
Ministry  was  overthrown.  Mr.  Lloyd  George  then  became  Britain's 
Prime  Minister. 

28 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  29 

and  then  we  can  ask  them  to  help.  We  must  appeal  for 
the  cooperation  of  employers,  workmen,  and  the  general 
public ;  the  three  must  act  and  endure  together,  or  we 
delay  and  maybe  imperil  victory.  We  ought  to  requisi- 
tion the  aid  of  every  man  who  can  handle  metal.  It 
means  that  the  needs  of  the  community  in  many  respects 
will  suffer  acutely  vexatious,  and  perhaps  injurious,  delay ; 
but  I  feel  sure  that  the  public  are  prepared  to  put  up  with 
all  this  discomfort,  loss,  and  privation  if  thereby  their 
country  marches  triumphantly  out  of  this  great  struggle. 
We  have  every  reason  for  confidence ;  we  have  none  for 
complacency.  Hope  is  the  mainspring  of  efficiency; 
complacency  is  its  rust. 

We  laugh  at  things  in  Germany  that  ought  to  terrify 
us.  We  say,  "Look  at  the  way  they  are  making  their 
bread  —  out  of  potatoes,  ha,  ha ! "  Aye,  that  potato- 
bread  spirit  is  something  which  is  more  to  dread  than  to 
mock  at.  I  fear  that  more  than  I  do  even  von  Hinden- 
burg's  strategy,  efficient  as  it  may  be.  That  is  the  spirit 
in  which  a  country  should  meet  a  great  emergency,  and 
instead  of  mocking  at  it  we  ought  to  emulate  it.  I  be- 
lieve we  are  just  as  imbued  with  the  spirit  as  Germany  is, 
but  we  want  it  evoked.  The  average  Briton  is  too  shy 
to  be  a  hero  until  he  is  asked.  The  British  temper  is  one 
of  never  wasting  heroism  on  needless  display,  but  there 
is  plenty  of  it  for  the  need.  There  is  nothing  Britishers 
would  not  give  up  for  the  honor  of  their  country  or  for 
the  cause  of  freedom.  Indulgences,  comforts,  even  the 
necessities  of  fife  they  would  willingly  surrender.  Why, 
there  are  two  millions  of  them  at  this  hour  who  have 
wilUngly  tendered  their  lives  for  their  countiy.  What 
more  could  they  do  ?  If  the  absorption  of  aU  our  engineer- 
ing resources  is  demanded,  no  British  citizen  will  grudge 
his  share  of  inconvenience. 


30  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

But  what  about  those  more  immediately  concerned  in 
that  kind  of  work?  Here  I  am  approaching  something 
which  is  very  difficult  to  talk  about  —  I  mean' the  em- 
ployers and  workmen.  I  must  speak  out  quite  plainly; 
nothing  else  is  of  the  slightest  use.  For  one  reason  or 
another  we  are  not  getting  all  the  assistance  we  have  the 
right  to  expect  from  our  workers.  Disputes,  industrial 
disputes,  are  inevitable ;  and  when  you  have  a  good  deal 
of  stress  and  strain,  men's  nerves  are  not  at  their  best. 
I  think  I  can  say  I  always  preserve  my  temper  in  these 
days  —  I  hope  my  wife  won't  give  me  away  —  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  spirit  of  unrest  creeps  into  the  relations 
between  employer  and  workmen.  Some  differences  of 
opinion  are  quite  inevitable,  but  we  cannot  afford  them 
now  ;  and,  above  all,  we  cannot  resort  to  the  usual  method 
of  settling  them. 

I  suppose  I  have  settled  more  labor  disputes  than  any 
other  man  in  this  hall,  and,  although  those  who  only  know 
me  sHghtly  may  be  surprised  to  hear  me  say  it,  the  thing 
that  you  need  most  is  patience.  If  I  were  to  give  a  motto 
to  a  man  who  is  going  to  a  conference  between  employers 
and  workmen  I  would  say:  "Take  your  time;  don't 
hurry.  It  will  come  around  with  patience  and  tact  and 
temper."  But  you  know  we  cannot  afTord  those  leisurely 
methods  now.  Time  is  victory,  and  while  employers  and 
workmen  on  the  Clyde  have  been  spending  time  in  dis- 
puting over  a  fraction,  and  when  a  week-end,  ten  days, 
and  a  fortnight  of  work  which  is  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  defense  of  the  country  has  been  set  aside,  I  say 
here  solemnly  that  it  is  intolerable  that  the  life  of  Britain 
should  be  imperiled  for  the  matter  of  a  farthing  an  hour. 

Who  is  to  blame?  That  is  not  the  question,  but  — 
How  is  it  to  be  stopped?  Employers  will  say,  "Are  we 
always  to  give  way?"     Workmen  say,  "Employers  are 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  31 

making  their  fortunes  out  of  an  emergency  of  the  country ; 
why  are  not  we  to  have  a  share  of  the  plunder  ?  "  ("  Hear, 
hear !"  and  laughter.)  There  is  one  gentleman  here  who 
holds  that  view.  (Laughter.)  I  hope  he  is  not  an  en- 
gineer. (Renewed  laughter.)  "We  work  harder  than 
ever,"  say  the  workmen.  All  I  can  say  is,  if  they  do  they 
are  entitled  to  their  share.  But  that  is  not  the  point  — 
Who  is  right?  Who  is  wrong?  They  are  both  right 
and  they  are  both  wrong.  The  whole  point  is  that  these 
questions  ought  to  be  settled  without  throwing  away  the 
chances  of  humanity  in  its  greatest  struggle.  There  is  a 
good  deal  to  be  said  against  compulsory  arbitration,  but 
during  the  war  the  Government  ought  to  have  power  to 
settle  all  these  differences,  and  the  work  should  go  on. 
The  workman  ought  to  get  more.  Very  well,  let  the 
Government  find  it  out  and  give  it  to  him.  If  he  ought 
not,  then  he  ought  not  to  throw  up  his  tools.  The  coun- 
try cannot  afford  it.  It  is  disaster,  and  I  believe  that 
the  moment  this  comes  home  to  workmen  and  employers 
they  will  comply  with  the  urgent  demand  of  the  Govern- 
ment.   There  must  be  no  delay. 


ALLIES'  CONDITIONS  OF  PEACE 
Sir  Edward  Grey 

What  is  the  issue  for  which  we  are  fighting?  In  due 
time  the  terms  of  peace  will  be  put  forward  by  our  Allies 
in  concert  with  us  —  in  accordance  with  the  alUance  that 
exists  between  us  —  and  published  to  the  world.  One 
essential  condition  must  be  the  restoration  to  Belgium  of 
her  independence,  national  Hfe,  and  free  possession  of  her 
territory,  and  reparation  to  her  as  far  as  reparation  is 
possible  for  the  cruel  wrong  done  to  her.  That  is  part  of 
the  great  issue  for  which  we,  with  our  Allies,  are  contend- 
ing, and  the  great  part  of  the  issue  is  this  —  we  wish  the 
nations  of  Europe  to  be  free  to  live  their  independent  lives, 
working  out  their  own  form  of  government  for  them- 
selves, and  their  own  national  developments,  whether 
they  be  great  nations  or  small  States,  in  full  Hberty. 
This  is  our  ideal.  The  German  ideal  —  we  have  had  it 
poured  out  by  German  professors  and  publicists  since  the 
war  began  —  is  that  of  the  Germans  as  a  superior  people, 
to  whom  all  things  are  lawful  in  the  securing  of  their  own 

On  the  22d  day  of  March,  1915,  Sir  Edward  Grey  gave  to  the  world 
the  conditions  upon  which  the  Allied  governments  would  accept  peace. 
Below  is  an  extract  from  that  address. 

The  Right  Honorable  Sir  Edward  Grey  waa  Britain's  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs  from  1905  to  1917,  wlicn  he  was  superseded  by 
the  Right  Honorable  Arthur  James  Balfour.  Grey  was  born  April  25, 
1862,  and  received  his  education  at  Balliol  College,  Oxford.  Many 
nicknames  have  been  given  him,  the  best  known  of  which  is  "  England's 
Evil  Genius." 

32 


SIR   EDWARD   GREY  33 

power,  against  whom  resistance  of  any  sort  is  unlawful  — 
a  people  establishing  a  domination  over  the  nations  of 
the  Continent,  imposing  a  peace  which  is  not  to  be  liberty 
for  every  nation,  but  subservience  to  Germany.  I  would 
leave  the  Continent  altogether  or  even  perish  rather  than 
live  on  it  under  such  conditions. 

After  this  war  we  and  the  other  nations  of  Europe  must 
be  free  to  live,  not  menaced  continually  by  talk  of  "  su- 
preme war  lords,"  and  ''shining  armor,"  and  the  sword 
continually  "rattled  in  the  scabbard,"  and  heaven  con- 
tinually invoked  as  the  accomphce  of  Germany,  free  to 
live  without  having  our  policy  dictated  and  our  national 
destinies  and  activities  controlled  by  the  military  caste  of 
Prussia.  We  claim  for  ourselves  and  our  allies  claim  for 
themselves,  and  together  we  will  secure  for  Europe,  the 
right  of  independent  sovereignty  for  the  different  nations, 
the  right  to  pursue  a  national  existence,  not  in  the  shadow 
of  Prussian  hegemony  and  supremacy,  but  in  the  light  of 
equal  liberty. 

All  honor  for  ever  be  given  from  us  whom  age  and  cir- 
cumstances have  kept  at  home  to  those  who  have  volun- 
tarily come  forward  to  hazard  every  risk,  to  give  their 
lives  in  battle  on  land  and  on  sea.  They  have  their 
reward  in  enduring  fame  and  honor.  And  all  honor  be 
from  us  to  the  brave  armies  and  navies  of  our  Allies, 
who  have  exhibited  such  splendid  courage  and  noble 
patriotism.  The  admiration  they  have  aroused,  and  their 
comradeship  in  arms,  will  be  an  ennobling  and  enduring 
memory  between  us,  cementing  friendships  and  per- 
petuating national  good  will.  For  all  of  us  who  are  serv- 
ing the  State  at  home,  in  whatever  capacity,  whether 
officials,  or  employers,  or  wage  earners,  doing  our  utmost 
to  carry  on  the  national  life  in  this  time  of  stress,  there  is 
the  knowledge  that  there  can  be  no  nobler  opportunity 


34  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

than  that  of  serving  one's  country  when  its  existence  is 
at  stake,  and  when  the  cause  is  just  and  right ;  and  never 
was  there  a  time  in  our  national  history  when  the  crisis 
was  so  great  and  so  imperative,  or  the  cause  more  just 
and  right. 


AMERICA  FOR  HUMANITY 
WooDROw  Wilson 

Mr.  Mayor,  Mr.  Secretary,  Admiral  Fletcher,  and 
Gentlemen  of  the  Fleet :  This  is  not  an  occasion  upon 
which  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  wise  for  me  to 
make  many  remarks,  but  I  would  deprive  myself  of  a 
great  gratification  if  I  did  not  express  my  pleasure  in 
being  here,  my  gratitude  for  the  splendid  reception  which 
has  been  accorded  me  as  the  representative  of  the  nation, 
and  my  profound  interest  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States. 
That  is  an  interest  with  which  I  was  apparently  born,  for 
it  began  when  I  was  a  youngster  and  has  ripened  with  my 
knowledge  of  the  affairs  and  policies  of  the  United  States. 

I  think  it  is  a  natural,  instinctive  judgment  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  that  they  express  their  power  appro- 
priately in  an  efiicient  navy,  and  this  is  true  partly, 
I  believe,  because  that  navy  somehow  is  expected  to 
express  their  character,  not  within  our  own  borders,  where 
that  character  is  understood,  but  outside  our  borders, 
where  it  is  hoped  we  may  occasionally  touch  others  with 
some  shght  vision  of  what  America  stands  for. 

I  like  to  image  in  my  thought  this  ideal.  These  quiet 
ships  lying  in  the  river  have  no  suggestion  of  bluster  about 
them  —  no  intimation  of  aggression.  They  are  com- 
manded by  men  thoughtful  of  the  duty  of  citizens  as  well 

President  Wilson  addressed  the  Mayor's  Committee  in  New  York, 
May  17,  1915,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Naval  Review  and  Parade  on  the 
Hudson. 

35 


36  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

as  the  duty  of  officers  —  men  acquainted  with  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  great  service  to  which  they  belong  —  men 
wlio  know  by  touch  with  the  people  of  the  United  States 
what  sort  of  purposes  they  ought  to  entertain  and  what 
sort  of  discretion  they  ought  to  exercise,  in  order  to  use 
those  engines  of  force  as  engines  to  promote  the  interests 
of  humanity. 

The  mission  of  America  is  the  only  thing  that  a  sailor 
or  soldier  should  think  about :  he  has  notliing  to  do  with 
the  formulation  of  her  policy ;  he  is  to  support  her  policy, 
whatever  it  is  —  but  he  is  to  support  her  policy  in  the 
spirit  of  herself,  and  the  strength  of  om-  policy  is  that  we, 
who  for  the  time  being  administer  the  affairs  of  this  nation, 
do  not  originate  her  spirit;  we  attempt  to  embody  it; 
we  attempt  to  reahze  it  in  action ;  we  are  dominated  by 
it,  we  do  not  dictate  it. 

And  so  with  every  man  in  arms  who  serves  the  nation  — 
he  stands  and  waits  to  do  the  thing  which  the  nation  de- 
sires. America  sometimes  seems  perhaps  to  forget  her 
programs,  or,  rather,  I  would  say  that  sometimes  those 
who  represent  her  seem  to  forget  her  programs,  but  the 
people  never  forget  them.  It  is  as  startling  as  it  is  touch- 
ing to  see  how  whenever  j'^ou  touch  a  principle  you  touch 
the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  They 
listen  to  your  debates  of  policy,  they  determine  which 
party  they  will  prefer  to  power,  they  choose  and  prefer 
as  ordinary  men ;  but  their  real  affection,  their  real 
force,  their  real  irresistible  momentum,  is  for  the  ideas, 
which  men  embody. 

And  so  this  sight  in  the  river  touches  me  merely  as  a 
symbol  of  that,  and  it  quickens  the  pulse  of  every  man 
who  realizes  these  things  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
them.  When  a  crisis  occurs  in  this  country,  gentlemen, 
it  is  as  if  you  put  your  hand  on  the  pulse  of  a  dynamo, 


WOODROW   WILSON  37 

it  is  as  if  the  things  which  you  were  in  connection  with 
were  spiritually  bred.  You  had  nothing  to  do  with  them 
except,  if  you  listen  truly,  to  speak  the  things  that  you 
hear.  These  things  now  brood  over  the  river,  this  spirit 
now  moves  with  the  men  who  represent  the  nation  in  the 
navy,  these  things  will  move  upon  the  waters  in  the 
maneuvers;  no  threat  lifted  against  any  man,  against 
any  nation,  against  any  interest,  but  just  a  great,  solemn 
evidence  that  the  force  of  America  is  the  force  of  moral 
principle,  that  there  is  not  anything  else  that  she  loves 
and  that  there  is  not  anything  else  for  which  she  will 
contend. 


44B44B 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  FIGHTERS  OF  FRANCE 

Anatole   France 

One  hundred  and  twenty-six  years  ago  to-day  the  people 
of  Paris,  armed  with  pikes  and  guns,  to  the  beating  of 
drums  and  the  ringing  of  the  tocsin,  pressed  in  a  long  hne 
down  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine,  attacked  the  Bastile, 
and,  after  five  hours'  conflict  beneath  deadly  fire,  took 
possession  of  the  hated  fortress.  A  symbolical  victory 
won  over  tyranny  and  despotism,  a  victory  by  which  the 
French  people  inaugurated  a  new  regime. 

The  sovereignty  of  law !  Therein  lies  the  significance 
of  the  Bastile  taken  by  the  people  and  razed  to  its  founda- 
tions. The  coming  of  justice !  For  that  reason  patriots 
wearing  the  tricolor  cockade  in  their  hats,  and  citizenesses 
in  frocks  striped  with  the  nation's  colors,  danced  all 
night  long  to  the  accompaniment  of  violins,  in  the  gay 
brilliance  of  the  illuminations,  on  the  leveled  site  of  the 
Bastile. 

Hour  of  confidence  in  human  goodness,  of  faith  in  a 
future  of  concord  and  of  peace !  Then  did  France  reveal 
her  true  place  among  men ;  then  did  she  show  with  what 
hopes  the  Revolution  swelled  the  hearts  of  Europe.  The 
fall  of  the  Bastile  resounded  throughout  the  whole  world. 

This  is  an  extract  from  an  article  which  first  appeared  in  the  Petit 
Parisien,  celebrating  the  festival  of  the  14th  of  July,  1915.  It  has  been 
translated  by  Winifred  Stevens,  editor  of  "The  Book  of  France." 

This  Man  of  Letters,  Jacques  Anatole  Thibault  France,  was  born 
in  Paris,  April  16,  1844.  Besides  being  an  author  of  international  repute 
and  a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  Monsieur  France  is  an  officer  in 
the  Legion  of  Honor. 

38 


Anatole  France 


ANATOLE   FRANCE  39 

To  Russia  the  good  tidings  came  like  the  bright  flame 
of  a  bonfire  on  some  day  of  pubhc  rejoicing.  In  the  proud 
city  of  Peter  and  of  Catherine  nobles  and  serfs,  with  tears 
and  cries  of  gladness,  embraced  one  another  on  the  public 
squares.  The  French  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  the 
Empress  bears  witness  to  this  rapture.  "  It  is  impossible," 
he  writes,  'Ho  describe  the  enthusiasm  excited  among 
tradesmen,  merchants,  citizens,  and  the  young  men  of 
the  upper  classes  by  this  fall  of  a  State  prison,  and  this 
first  triumph  of  tempestuous  liberty  —  French,  Russians, 
Danes,  Germans,  Dutchmen  were  all  congratulating  and 
embracing  one  another  in  the  streets  as  if  they  had  been 
liberated  from  some  onerous  bondage." 

In  England  workingmen,  the  middle  classes,  and  the 
generous  minded  among  the  aristocracy  all  rejoiced  over 
the  victory  of  right  won  by  the  people  of  Paris.  Neither 
did  their  enthusiasm  flag,  despite  all  the  efforts  of  a  Gov- 
ernment strenuously  hostile  to  the  new  principles  of 
France.  In  1790,  the  anniversary  of  the  taking  of  the 
Bastile  was  celebrated  in  London  by  an  immense  banquet, 
presided  over  by  Lord  Stanhope,  one  of  the  wisest  states- 
men of  the  United  Kingdom. 

These  are  the  memories  we  recall  and  the  events  we 
celebrate  to-day. 

Dear  soldiers,  dear  fellow-citizens,  I  address  you  on  this 
grave  festival  because  I  love  you  and  honor  you  and 
think  of  you  unceasingly. 

I  am  entitled  to  speak  to  you  heart  to  heart  because  I 
have  a  right  to  speak  for  France,  being  one  of  those  who 
have  ever  sought,  in  freedom  of  judgment  and  uprightness 
of  conscience,  the  best  means  of  making  their  country 
strong.  I  am  entitled  to  speak  to  you  because,  not  hav- 
ing desired  war,  but  being  compelled  to  suffer  it,  I,  like 
you,  like  all  Frenchmen,  am  resolved  to  wage  it  tiU  the 


40  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

end,  until  justice  shall  have  conquered  iniquity,  civiliza- 
tion barbarism,  and  until  the  nations  are  delivered  from 
the  monstrous  menace  of  an  oppressive  militarism.  I  have 
a  right  to  speak  to  you  because  I  am  one  of  the  few  who 
have  never  deceived  you,  and  who  have  never  believed 
that  you  needed  lies  for  the  maintenance  of  your  courage ; 
one  of  the  few  who,  rejecting  as  unworthy  of  you  decep- 
tive fictions  and  misleading  silence,  have  told  you  the 
truth. 

I  told  you  in  December  last  year:  "This  war  will  be 
cruel  and  long."  I  tell  you  now  :  "You  have  done  much, 
but  all  is  not  over.  The  end  of  your  labors  approaches, 
but  is  not  yet.  You  are  fighting  against  an  enemy 
fortified  by  long  preparation  and  immense  material. 
Your  foe  is  unscrupulous.  He  has  learned  from  his  leaders 
that  inhumanity  is  the  soldier's  first  virtue.  Arming 
himself  in  a  manner  undreamed  of  hitherto  by  the  most 
formidable  of  conquerors,  he  causes  rivers  of  blood  to 
flow  and  breathes  forth  vapors  charged  with  torpor  and 
with  death.  Endure,  persevere,  dare.  Remain  what 
you  are,  and  none  shall  prevail  against  you. 

You  are  fighting  for  your  native  land,  that  laughing, 
fertile  land,  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world ;  for  your 
fields  and  your  meadows.  For  the  august  mother,  who, 
crowned  with  vine  leaves  and  with  ears  of  corn,  waits  to 
welcome  you  and  to  feed  you  with  all  the  inexhaustible 
treasures  of  her  breast.  You  arc  fighting  for  your  village 
belfry,  your  roofs  of  slate  or  tile,  with  wreaths  of  smoke 
curling  up  into  the  serene  sky.  For  your  fathers'  graves, 
your  children's  cradles. 

You  arc  fighting  for  our  august  cities,  on  the  banks  of 
whose  rivers  rise  the  monuments  of  generations  —  roman- 
esquc  churches,  cathedrals,  minsters,  abbeys,  palaces, 
triumphal  arches,  columns  of  bronze,  theaters,  museums, 


ANATOLE    FRANCE  41 

town  halls,  hospitals,  statues  of  sages  and  of  heroes  — 
monuments  whose  walls,  whether  modest  or  magnificent, 
shelter  alike  commerce,  industry,  science,  and  the  arts,  all 
that  constitutes  the  beauty  of  life. 

You  are  fighting  for  our  moral  heritage,  our  manners, 
our  uses,  our  laws,  our  customs,  our  beliefs,  our  traditions. 
For  the  works  of  our  sculptors,  our  architects,  our  painters, 
our  engravers,  our  goldsmiths,  our  enamelers,  our  glass 
cutters,  our  weavers.  For  the  songs  of  our  musicians. 
For  our  mother  tongue  which,  with  ineffable  sweetness, 
for  eight  centuries  has  flowed  from  the  lips  of  our  poets, 
our  orators,  our  historians,  our  philosophers.  For  the 
knowledge  of  man  and  of  nature.  For  that  encyclopedic 
learning  which  attained  among  us  the  high-water  mark  of 
precision  and  lucidity.  You  are  fighting  for  the  genius 
of  France,  which  enlightened  the  world  and  gave  freedom 
to  the  nations.  By  this  noble  spirit  bastiles  are  over- 
thrown. And,  lastly,  you  are  fighting  for  the  homes  of 
Belgians,  English,  Russians,  Italians,  Serbians,  not  for 
France  merely,  but  for  Europe,  ceaselessly  disturbed  and 
furiously  threatened  by  Germany's  devouring  ambition. 

The  Fatherland  !  Liberty !  Beloved  children  of  France, 
these  are  the  sacred  treasures  committed  to  your  keep- 
ing ;  for  their  sakes  you  endure ;  for  their  sakes  you  will 
conquer. 


EVIVA  L' ITALIA 
William  Archer 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  memorable  of  human 
experiences  is  to  start,  some  fine  morning,  from  a  point 
in  German  Switzerland  or  Tyrol  and,  in  two  or  three 
days  —  or  it  may  be  in  one  swinging  stretch  —  to  tramp 
over  an  Alpine  pass  and  down  into  the  Promised  Land 
below.  It  is  of  no  use  to  rush  it  in  a  motor ;  you  might 
as  well  hop  over  by  aeroplane.  In  order  to  savor  the  ex- 
perience to  the  full,  you  must  take  staff  and  scrip,  like  the 
Ritter  Tannhauser,  and  go  the  pilgrim's  way.  It  is  a 
joy  even  to  pass  from  the  guttural  and  explosive  place 
names  of  Teutonia  to  the  liquid  music  of  the  southern 
vocables  —  from  Brieg  to  Domo  d'  Ossola,  from  Goschenen 
to  Bellinzona,  from  St.  Moritz  to  Chiavenna,  from  Botzen 
and  Brixen  to  Ala  and  Verona.  It  is  a  still  greater  joy 
to  exchange  the  harsh,  staring  colors  of  the  north  for  the 
soft  luminosity  of  the  south,  as  you  zigzag  down  from  the 
bare  snows  to  the  pines,  from  the  pines  to  the  chestnuts, 
from  the  chestnuts  to  the  trellised  vineyards.  And  just 
about  where  the  vineyards  begin,  you  come  upon  two 

William  Archer,  journalist  and  editor,  was  born  in  Perth,  Scotland, 
on  the  23d  day  of  September,  1856.  He  received  his  education  at  Edin- 
burgh University.  He  is  widely  known  as  a  dramatic  critic  and  has 
served  on  several  of  the  leading  European  journals. 

Mr.  Archer's  article,  which  appears  below,  was  first  published  in  the 
London  Daily  News,  July,  1915. 

42 


WILLIAM   ARCHER  43 

wayside  posts,  one  of  them  inscribed  "Schweiz"  or 
"Oesterreich,"  the  other  bearing  the  magic  word  "ItaHa." 
If  your  heart  docs  not  leap  at  the  sight  of  it  you  may  as 
well  about-turn  and  get  you  home  again;  for  you  have 
no  sense  of  history,  no  love  of  art,  no  hunger  for  divine, 
inexhaustible  beauty.  For  all  these  things  are  implicit 
in  the  one  word,  "Italy." 

Alas !  the  charm  of  this  excursion  has  from  of  old  made 
irresistible  appeal  to  the  northern  barbarian.  That  has 
been  Italy's  historic  misfortune.  For  certain  centuries, 
under  the  dominance  of  Rome,  she  kept  the  Goths  and 
Huns  and  Vandals  aloof  by  what  is  called  in  India  a  "for- 
ward policy"  —  by  throwing  the  outworks  of  civilization 
far  beyond  the  Alpine  barrier.  But  Rome  fell  to  decay, 
and,  wave  upon  wave,  the  barbarian  —  generally  the 
Teuton,  under  one  alias  or  another  —  surged  over  her 
glorious  highlands,  her  bounteous  lowlands,  and  her 
marvelous  cities.  It  is  barely  half  a  century  since  the 
hated  Tedeschi  were  expelled  from  the  greater  part  of  their 
Cisalpine  possessions ;  and  now,  in  the  fullness  of  time, 
Italy  has  resolved  to  redeem  the  last  of  her  ravished 
provinces  and  to  make  her  boundaries  practically  conter- 
minous with  Italian  speech  and  race. 

The  political  and  military  aspects  of  the  situation  have 
been  fully  dealt  with  elsewhere ;  but  a  lifelong  lover  of 
Italy  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  state  his  personal 
view  of  her  action.  While  the  negotiations  lasted,  her 
position  was  scarcely  a  dignified  one.  It  seemed  to  be  a 
question  not,  indeed,  of  selling  her  birthright  for  a  mess  of 
pottage,  but  of  buying  her  birthright  at  the  cost  of  complic- 
ity in  monstrous  crime.  Neither  Italy  nor  Europe  would 
have  profited  in  the  long  run  by  the  substitution  of 
"Belgia  Irredenta"  for  "Italia  Irredenta."  But  now 
that  she  has  repudiated  the  sops  offered  to  her  honor  and 


44  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

conscience,  her  position  is  clear  and  fine.  She  has  re- 
jected concessions  larger,  probably,  than  any  great  power 
has  ever  before  been  prepared  to  make  without  stroke  of 
sword  ;  and  she  has  thrown  in  her  lot  with  the  Allies  in  no 
time-serving  spirit,  but  at  a  point  when  their  fortunes 
were  by  no  means  at  their  highest.  This  is  a  gesture 
entirely  worthy  of  a  great  and  high-spirited  people. 

It  is  true  that  she  had  no  guarantee  for  the  promised 
concessions  except  the  "Teutonica  fides,"  which  has  be- 
come a  byword  and  a  reproach.  But  I  am  much  mistaken 
if  that  was  the  sole  or  main  motive  that  determined  her 
resort  to  arms.  She  took  a  larger  view.  She  felt  that 
even  if  Germany,  by  miracle,  kept  her  faith,  the  world, 
after  a  German  victory,  would  be  no  place  for  free  men  to 
live  in.  She  was  not  moved  by  the  care  for  a  few  square 
miles  of  territory,  more  or  less,  but  by  a  strong  sense  of 
democratic  sohdarity  and  of  human  dignity.  After  the 
events  of  the  past  ten  months,  she  felt  that,  to  a  self- 
respecting  man  or  nation,  German  hate  was  infinitely 
preferable  to  German  love.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  patent  of 
nobility. 

And  now  that  Italy  is  ranked  with  us  against  the  powers 
of  evil,  it  becomes  more  than  ever  our  duty  to  strain  every 
nerve  for  their  defeat.  We  are  now  taking  our  share  in 
the  guardianship  of  the  world's  great  treasure  house  of 
historic  memories  and  of  the  creations  of  genius.  We 
have  become,  as  it  were,  co-trustees  of  an  incomparable, 
irreplaceable  heritage  of  beauty.  Italy  has  been  the 
scene  of  many  and  terrible  wars ;  but  since  she  emerged 
from  the  Dark  Ages  I  do  not  know  that  war  has  greatly 
damaged  the  glory  of  her  cities.  She  has  not,  of  recent 
centuries,  had  to  mourn  a  Louvain  or  a  Rheims.  But 
if  the  Teuton,  in  his  present  temper,  should  gain  any 
considerable  footing  within  her  bounds,  the  Dark  Ages 


WILLIAM   ARCHER  45 

would  be  upon  her  once  more.     What  effort  can  be  too 
great  to  avert  such  a  calamity ! 

I  am  not  by  way  of  being  versed  in  the  secrets  of  Courts ; 
but  I  recall  to-day,  with  encouragement,  a  conversation  I 
had  some  years  ago  with  an  ex-Ambassador  to  Italy  (not 
a  British  Ambassador)  who  had  been  on  intimate  terms 
with  the  King,  and  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  his  Majesty's 
character.  He  told  me  of  his  bravery,  his  devotion  to 
duty,  his  simple  manners,  his  high  intelUgence.  One 
little  anecdote  I  may  repeat  without  indiscretion.  A 
Minister  of  Education  said  to  my  friend  that  when  he  had 
an  interview  with  the  King  he  felt  hke  a  schoolboy  bring- 
ing up  to  an  exacting  though  kindly  master  a  half-pre- 
pared lesson ;  and  when  this  was  repeated  to  his  Majesty, 
he  smiled  and  said :  "Ministers  come  and  go,  but  I,  you 
see,  am  always  here."  He  merited  far  better  than  his 
grandfather  (said  my  informant)  the  title  of  "il  Re  Galan- 
tuomo."  Under  such  a  Chief  of  State  Italy  may,  with 
high  hope  and  courage,  set  about  her  task  of  tearing  away 
her  unredeemed  fringes  from  that  patchwork  of  tyrannies 
known  as  the  Austrian  Empire. 


RUSSIA'S  HEART 
Michael  Rodzianko 

To-day  ends  the  first  year  of  a  most  sanguinary  war, 
replete  with  arduous  sacrifices.  The  bloody  conflict  of 
the  nations  has  not  yet  ceased  and  nobody  can  yet  know 
when  it  will  cease.  This  war  is  unprecedented  in  diffi- 
culties and  sacrifices,  but  the  greater  the  danger  the 
greater  grows  our  determination  to  carry  it  to  the  only 
possible  conclusion  —  our  decisive  victory  over  the  foe. 
For  the  solution  of  this  problem  there  is  now  demanded 
from  the  entire  country  the  utmost  exertion  of  strength 
and  complete  unity. 

In  these  days  of  unrest  and  danger  our  great  Emperor, 
meeting  this  entire  national  need  halfway,  and  wishing  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Russian  land,  has  commanded 
the  Imperial  Duma  to  be  convened,  with  firm  faith  in  the 
inexhaustible  strength  of  Russia.  His  Majesty  expects 
from  Government  and  public  institutions,  from  Russian 
industry,  and  from  all  the  loyal  sons  of  our  native  land, 
without  distinction  of  views  and  position,  united,  har- 
monious labor  for  the  needs  of  our  valiant  army.  On 
this  sole  all-national  problem,  as  written  in  the  Imperial 
Rescript,  must  hereafter  be  concentrated  all  the  thought 
of  a  Russia  united  and  invincible  in  its  unity.  In  the 
complete  and  clear  understanding  of  the  profound  mean- 
ing of  this  great  imperial  summons,  the  Imperial  Duma 
embarks  upon  its  responsible  labors. 

At  the  time  that  this  address  was  delivered,  Michael  Rodzianko 
was  President  of  the  Imperial  Duma.  M.  Rodzianko  is  still  President 
of  this  body,  having  retained  his  high  office  after  the  Revolution  in 
March,  1917,  because  of  the  universal  trust  in  his  ability.  On  the  date 
of  the  opening  of  the  Duma,  August  1,  1915,  he  delivered  this  address. 

46 


MICHAEL  RODZIANKO  47 

The  war  through  which  we  are  passing  is  no  longer  a 
duel  of  armies,  but  imperatively  calls  for  the  participation 
therein  of  all  our  people.  And  in  their  common  endeavor 
and  harmonious,  united  labor  lies  the  pledge  of  the  suc- 
cess of  our  troops  over  the  insolent  foe.  Holy  Russia 
has  lived  all  this  year  with  a  single  desire  —  the  desire 
for  a  living  and  indissoluble  tie  with  the  army,  and  from 
this  desire  the  army  has  drawn  fiery  inspiration.  Our 
public  efforts  for  the  past  year,  intense  but  restricted 
within  certain  bounds,  were  favored  with  notable  apprecia- 
tion from  the  summit  of  the  throne,  and  if  these  labors 
have  actually  lightened  our  army's  difficult  task  of  con- 
flict with  a  cruel  antagonist,  then  it  must  be  said  here 
with  pride  and  a  feeling  of  profound  satisfaction  that  for 
this  difficult  and  responsible  time  the  public  forces  of 
Russia  have  inscribed  a  splendid  page  in  the  history  of  their 
national  existence.  But  these  efforts  and  labors,  inspired 
with  love  for  native  land,  are  still  far  from  sufficient. 

The  needs  of  the  war  are  constantly  growing,  and 
from  the  summit  of  the  throne  has  resounded  afresh  the 
summons  to  increased  labors  and  new  sacrifices.  Our 
duty,  sparing  neither  strength  nor  time  nor  means,  is  to 
set  to  work  without  delay.  Let  each  one  give  his  labor 
into  the  treasury  of  popular  might.  Let  those  who  are 
rich,  let  those  who  are  able,  contribute  to  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  country.  Both  the  army  and  the  navy  are 
setting  us  all  an  example  of  dauntless  fulfillment  of  duty ; 
they  have  accomplished  all  that  was  in  human  power; 
our  turn  has  now  arrived  and  the  now  united  public 
strength,  working  ceaselessly,  I  am  sure  can  supply  the 
army  with  all  that  is  necessary  for  its  further  martial 
exploits.  For  the  success  of  these  responsible  public 
labors,  in  addition  to  the  benevolent  attitude  of  indi- 
viduals placed  at  the  head  of  departments,  a  change  in 


48  THE   FORUM   OP   DEMOCRACY 

the  spirit  itself  and  in  the  administration  of  the  existing 
system  is  necessary.  I  firmly  believe,  gentlemen  of  the 
Imperial  Duma,  that  at  the  present  arduous  time  the 
reconstituted  Government  will  not  hesitate  to  place  at 
the  basis  of  its  activity  a  trustful  and  responsive  attitude 
toward  the  demands  of  public  forces,  summoning  them 
thereby  to  common  harmonious  labor  for  the  glory  and 
happiness  of  Russia. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Imperial  Duma !  Such  are  the  great 
tasks  which  have  risen  up  before  us  in  their  full  stature. 
Do  not  forget  that  upon  the  issue  of  our  labors  for  the 
assistance  of  the  army  depends  the  greatness  of  inde- 
pendent, free,  and  resuscitated  Russia,  while  in  the 
event  of  their  failure,  both  grief  and  humiliation  may 
threaten  her.  But  no,  our  great  Mother  Russia  will 
never  be  the  slave  of  anybody !  Russia  will  fight  till  the 
last,  till  the  complete  downfall  of  the  contemptible  foe. 
The  foe  will  be  defeated,  and  until  then  there  cannot  be 
peace.  Gentlemen,  national  representatives,  at  this  great 
and  terrible  hour  of  trial  we  here  must  display  the  mighty 
national  spirit  in  all  its  greatness.  The  country  is  await- 
ing a  reply  from  you.  Away  with  unnecessary  doubts ! 
We  must  fight  to  the  end  and  to  the  last  soldier  capable 
of  bearing  arms.  We  must  be  strong  in  profound  faith 
in  the  mighty  Russian  warrior. 

We  trust  in  thee.  Holy  Russia,  in  thy  inexhaustible 
spiritual  resources ;  and  let  this  encouraging  voice  of  the 
entire  Russian  soil  penetrate  thither  into  the  glorious 
Russian  army  and  into  the  midst  of  the  gallant  fleet, 
and  let  our  glorious  defenders,  the  army  and  navy,  know 
that  united  Russia,  burning  with  a  single  wish  and  a 
single  thought,  will  oppose  to  the  hostile  attack  the  steel 
breasts  of  her  sons. 


THE  WAR  AND   THE   JEWS 

Israel  Zangwill 

"You  are  the  only  people,"  said  Agrippa,  trying  to 
hold  back  the  Jews  of  Palestine  from  rising  against  the 
Roman  Empire,  ''who  think  it  a  disgrace  to  be  servants 
of  those  to  whom  all  the  world  hath  submitted."  To- 
day, servants  of  all  who  have  harbored  them,  the  Jews 
are  spending  themselves  passionately  in  the  service  of 
all.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  an  excited  Englishwoman, 
hearing  that  the  Cologne  Gazette,  said  to  be  run  by  Jews, 
was  abusing  England,  wrote  to  me,  foaming  at  the  quill, 
demanding  that  the  Jews  stop  the  paper.  That  the  Jews 
as  a  nation  do  not  exist,  or  that  an  English  Jew  could 
not  interfere  with  the  patriotic  journalism  of  a  Ger- 
man subject,  nay,  that  the  abuse  in  the  Cologne  Gazette 
was  actually  a  proof  of  Jewish  loyalty,  did  not  occur  to 
the  worthy  lady.  Yet  the  briefest  examination  of  the 
facts  would  have  shown  her  that  the  Jews  merely  reflect 
their  environment,  if  with  a  stronger  tinge  of  color  due 
to  their  more  vivid  temperament,  their  gratitude  and 
attachment  to  their  havens  and  fatherlands,  and  their 

Israel  Zangwill  was  born  in  London  in  1864.  He  may  be  termed 
self-educated,  for  he  received  only  a  superficial  and  entirelj^  elementary 
education  in  the  schools  of  London.  He  became  famous  as  the  author 
of  "Merely  Mary  Ann,"  "Ghetto  Tragedies,"  and  "The  Melting  Pot." 
He  is  President  of  the  International  Jewish  Territorial  Organization  and 
Vice  President  of  the  Men's  League  for  Woman  Suffrage. 

Zangwill's  "War  and  the  Jews"  appeared  in  the  Metropolitan  for 
August,  1915.  It  is  here  reprinted  by  permission  of  the  Metropolitan 
Magazine. 

49 


50  THE   FOKUAI   OF   DEMOCRACY 

anxiety  to  prove  themselves  more  patriotic  than  the 
patriots.  It  is  but  rarely  that  a  Jew  makes  the  faintest 
criticism  of  his  country  in  war-fever,  and  when  he  does 
so,  he  is  disavowed  by  his  community  and  its  press.  For 
the  Jew  his  country  can  do  no  wrong.  Wherever  we  turn, 
therefore,  we  find  the  Jew  prominently  patriotic.  In 
England  the  late  Lord  Rothschild  presided  over  the  Red 
Cross  Fund,  and  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  is  understood 
to  have  saved  the  financial  situation  not  only  for  Eng- 
land, but  for  all  her  allies.  In  Germany,  Herr  Ballin, 
the  Jew  who  refused  the  baptismal  path  to  preferment, 
the  creator  of  the  mercantile  marine,  and  now  the  organ- 
izer of  the  national  food  supply,  stands  as  the  Kaiser's 
friend,  interpreter,  and  henchman,  while  Maximilian 
Harden  brazenly  voices  the  gospel  of  Prussianism,  and 
Ernst  Lissauer  —  a  Jew  converted  to  the  religion  of  Love 
—  sings  "The  Song  of  Hate."  In  France,  Dreyfus  —  a 
more  Christian  Jew,  albeit  unbaptized  —  has  charge  of 
a  battery  to  the  north  of  Paris,  while  General  Heymann, 
Grand  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  commands  an  army 
corps.  In  Turkey,  the  racially  Jewish  Enver  Bey  is 
the  ruling  spirit,  having  defeated  the  Jewish  Djavid 
Bey,  who  was  for  alliance  with  France,  while  Italy,  on 
the  contrary,  has  joined  the  Allies,  through  the  influence 
of  Baron  Sonnino,  the  son  of  a  Jew.  The  military  hos- 
pitals of  Turkey  are  all  under  the  direction  of  the  Austrian 
Jew,  Hecker.  In  Hungary  it  is  the  Jews  who,  with  the 
Magyars,  are  the  brains  of  the  nation.  Belgium  has  sent 
several  thousand  Jews  to  the  colors  and  at  a  moment  when 
Belgium's  fate  hangs  upon  England,  has  intrusted  her 
interests  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's  to  a  Jewish  Min- 
ister, Mr.  Hymans.  Twent}'  thousand  Jews  are  fighting 
for  the  British  Empire,  fifty  thousand  for  the  German, 
a  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  for  the  Austro-Hun- 


ISRAEL   ZANGWILL  51 

garian,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  for  the 
Russian.  Two  thousand  five  hundred  Jews  fight  for 
Serbia.  Even  from  Morocco  and  TripoU  come  Jewish 
troops  —  they  number  20  per  cent  of  the  Zouaves.  Nor 
are  the  British  Colonies  behind  the  French.  From 
Austraha,  New  Zealand,  from  Canada,  South  Africa, 
from  every  possession  and  dependency,  stream  Jewish 
soldiers  or  sailors.  Even  the  little  contingent  from 
Rhodesia  had  Jews,  and  the  first  British  soldier  to  fall 
in  German  Southwest  Africa  was  Ben  Rabinson,  a  famous 
athlete. 

When  Joseph  Chamberlain  offered  the  Zionists  a  plateau 
in  East  Africa  the  half-dozen  local  Britons  held  a  "mass- 
meeting"  of  protest.  Yet  to-day,  though  the  offer  was 
rejected  by  the  Zionists,  fifty  Jewish  volunteers  —  among 
them  Captain  Blumenthal  of  the  Artillery  and  Lieutenant 
Eckstein  of  the  Mounted  Rifles  —  are  serving  in  the 
Defense  Force  enlisted  at  Nairobi.  Letters  from  British 
Jews  published  in  a  single  number  of  the  Jewish  World, 
taken  at  random,  reveal  the  writers  as  with  the  Austra- 
Uan  fighting  force  in  Egypt,  with  the  Japanese  at  the  tak- 
ing of  Tsing-Tao,  with  the  Grand  Fleet  in  the  North  Sea, 
while  the  killed  and  wounded  in  the  same  issue  range 
over  almost  every  British  regiment,  from  the  historic 
Black  Watch,  Grenadier  Guards,  or  King's  Own  Scotch 
Borderers  down  to  the  latest  Middlesex  and  Manchester 
creations.  The  Old  World  and  the  New  are  indeed  at 
clash  when  a  Jewish  sailor  on  Passover  eve,  in  lieu  of 
sitting  pillowed  at  the  immemorial  ritual  meal,  is  at  his 
big  gun,  "my  eye  fixed  to  the  telescopic  lights  and  an 
ear  in  very  close  proximity  to  an  adjacent  navy  phone, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  time  with  my  head  on  a  pro- 
jectile for  a  pillow."  Anglo-Jewry,  once  the  home  of 
timorous  mothers  and  PhiHstine  fathers,  has  become  a 


52  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

Maccabean  stronghold.  One  distinguished  family  alone 
—  the  Spielmanns  —  boast  thirty-five  members  with 
the  forces.  A  letter  of  thanks  from  the  King  has  pub- 
lished the  fact  that  an  obscure  Jew  in  a  London  suburb 
has  five  sons  at  the  front. 

And  in  all  these  armies  the  old  Maccabean  valor  which 
had  not  feared  to  challenge  the  Roman  Empire  at  its 
mightiest,  and  to  subdue  which  a  favorite  General  had 
to  be  detached  from  the  less  formidable  Britain,  has  been 
proved  afresh.  "The  Jewish  bravery  astonished  us  all," 
said  the  Vice  Governor  of  Kovno,  and,  indeed,  the  hero- 
ism of  the  Russian  Jew  has  become  a  household  word. 
More  than  300  privates  —  they  cannot  be  officers  —  have 
been  accorded  the  Order  of  St.  George.  One  Jew,  who 
brought  down  a  German  aeroplane,  was  awarded  all  four 
degrees  of  the  order  at  once.  In  England  Lieutenant  de 
Pass  won  the  Victoria  Cross  for  carrying  a  wounded  man 
out  of  heavy  fire,  and  perished  a  few  hours  later  in  try- 
ing to  capture  a  German  sap.  In  Austria  up  to  the  end 
of  the  year  the  Jews  had  won  651  medals,  crosses,  etc. 
"I  give  my  life  for  the  victory  of  France  and  the  peace 
of  the  world,"  wrote  a  young  immigrant  Jew  who  died 
on  the  battlefield.  A  collection  of  letters  from  German 
soldiers,  published  by  the  Jewish  Book-shop  of  Berlin, 
reveals  equal  devotion  to  Germany.  And  to  the  ques- 
tion, "What  shall  it  profit  the  Jew  to  fight  for  the  whole 
world?"  a  Yiddish  journalist,  Morris  Meyer,  has  found  a 
noble  answer.  There  is  a  unity  behind  all  this  seeming 
self-contradiction,  he  points  out.  "All  these  Jews  are 
dying  for  the  same  thing  —  for  the  honor  of  the  Jewish 
name." 


AMERICA'S   PART 
Sir  Gilbert  Parker 

What  has  been  the  part  played  by  the  United  States 
in  this  year  of  war?  From  the  British  standpoint,  has 
she  helped  or  retarded  us? 

The  account  which  we  render  of  ourselves  brings  no 
blush  to  our  cheeks,  though  we  differ  and  criticize  and 
gibe  and  challenge  each  other,  as  Britishers  have  always 
done;  as  Americans  did  in  the  time  of  their  Civil  War, 
when  Lincoln's  heart  was  almost  broken  by  opposition 
from  his  political  foes,  and  by  savage  criticism  of  his 
friends.  At  this  time  we  are  all  in  a  state  not  perfectly 
normal. 

We  are  living,  as  it  were,  at  the  top  of  our  being,  and 
we  are  inclined  to  exaggerate,  to  be  extravagant  in  de- 
nunciation or  in  criticism  when  things  do  not  go  as  we 
think  they  ought  to  do,  but  go  as  they  always  do  in  war, 
with  staggering  ups  and  downs. 

There  are  those  among  us  who  have  thought  that  the 
United  States,  as  a  vast  democracy  inspired  by  high 
national  ideals,  and  as  the  enemy  of  all  reactionary  and 
tyrannical  elements,  might  have  done  more  to  help  us 
in  our  fight  for  civilization,  might  indeed  have  entered 
the  war  with  us. 

Sir  Gilbert  Parker  is  a  Canadian  by  birth,  who  has  achieved  fame  as 
a  novelist  and  man  of  letters.  He  has  been  most  active  in  the  spread  of 
British  and  allied  propaganda  in  the  United  States.  This  is  an  extract 
from  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  New  York  Times  on  the  first  anni- 
versarj^  of  the  declaration  of  war.  It  is  called  "A  Reply"  and  is  aimed 
at  the  critics  of  England's  policy  during  the  first  year  of  the  great  war. 

53 


54  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

But  let  me  say  —  and  in  this  I  believe  I  speak  for  the 
great  majority  of  British  people  —  that  we  have  not  had 
the  least  desire  to  invoke  the  armed  assistance  of  the 
United  States,  or  to  influence  her  in  the  shghtest  in  this 
matter. 

The  United  States  has  performed  immense  service 
to  the  Allies  by  resisting  all  attempts  to  wean  or  force 
her  from  her  neutrality  by  prohibiting  the  export  of  mu- 
nitions of  war.  Her  perfect  propriety  and  adherence  to  the 
spirit  of  true  neutrality  have  resisted   German  pressure. 

Secondly,  the  services  she  has  performed  to  civilization 
by  organizing  relief  for  Belgium  have  been  a  service  to 
humanity,  and  therefore  a  service  to  the  Allies,  who  are 
fighting  to  restore  to  Belgium  her  usurped  dominion. 

Thirdly,  the  United  States  has  rendered  immense 
services  to  this  country  by  caring  for  the  interests  of 
British  subjects  abroad,  and  above  all,  by  making  the 
lot  of  British  prisoners  of  war  easier.  Some  of  the  worst 
cruelties  and  inhuman  oppressions  have  been  removed 
by  her  intervention. 

Lastly,  her  sympathy,  expressed  in  a  thousand  ways, 
and  not  the  least  by  fair  consideration  of  the  action  taken 
by  Great  Britain  in  the  blockade  and  other  matters,  has 
eased  the  minds  of  milHons  of  King  George's  subjects. 
Lack  of  sympathy  might  easily  have  misinterpreted  the 
acts  of  our  Government. 

I  wish  Americans  would  believe  that  in  this  country 
there  has  been  since  this  war  began  a  larger  and  truer 
understanding  of  the  American  people.  For  my  own 
part  I  have  known  the  United  States  intimately  for  many 
years,  and  I  have  always  had  faith  in  her  national  pur- 
poses and  confidence  in  her  diplomatic  integrity,  and, 
from  reading  her  history,  a  realization  of  her  sense  of 
justice. 


SIR  GILBERT  PARKER  55 

And  in  this  war  of  ideals,  fundamentally  different,  I 
believe  the  people  of  both  Britain  and  America  have  come 
to  a  sense  of  kinship  and  of  mutual  admiration,  not  dimin- 
ished by  the  possible  mistakes  which  may  have  been  made 
by  Great  Britain  largely  due  to  improvised  organization, 
or  in  the  United  States  by  her  rigid  neutrality,  which 
may  not  have  seemed  to  chime  with  her  sympathy. 

American  diplomacy  has  been  unimpeachable,  and 
we  in  Great  Britain  are  grateful  for  an  understanding 
which  is  as  material  a  support  as  an  army  in  the  field. 


PLEA  FOR  PEACE 
Pope  Benedict 

To-day,  on  the  sad  anniversary  of  the  terrible  conflict, 
our  heart  gives  forth  the  wish  that  the  war  will  soon  end. 
We  raise  again  our  voice  to  utter  a  fatherly  cry  for  peace. 
May  this  cry,  dominating  the  frightful  noise  of  arms, 
reach  the  warring  peoples  and  their  chiefs  and  induce 
kindly  and  more  serene  intentions. 

In  the  name  of  the  Lord  God,  in  the  name  of  the  Father 
and  Lord  in  heaven,  in  the  name  of  the  blessed  blood  of 
Jesus  —  the  price  of  the  redemption  of  humanity  —  we 
implore  the  belligerent  nations,  before  Divine  Provi- 
dence, henceforth  to  end  the  horrible  carnage  which  for  a 
year  has  been  dishonoring  Europe. 

This  is  the  blood  of  brothers  that  is  being  shed  on  land 
and  sea.  The  most  beautiful  regions  of  Europe  —  this 
garden  of  the  world  —  are  sown  with  bodies  and  ruins. 
There,  where  recently  fields  and  factories  thrived,  cannon 
now  roar  in  a  frightful  manner,  in  a  frenzy  of  demolition, 
sparing  neither  cities  nor  villages,  and  spreading  the 
ravages  of  death. 

You  who  before  God  and  men  are  charged  with  the 
grave  responsibility  of  peace  and  war,  listen  to  our  prayer, 
listen  to  the  fatherly  voice  of  the  vicar  of  the  eternal  and 
supreme  Judge  to  whom  you  should  give  account  of  your 
public  works  as  well  as  private  actions. 

The  abundant  riches  which  the  creating  God  has  given 

Pope  Benedict  XV  sent  out  this  appeal  from  the  Vatican  on  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  great  war. 

56 


Pope  Benedict  XV 


POPE  BENEDICT  57 

to  your  lands  permit  you  to  continue  the  contest.  But 
at  what  a  price !  At  the  price  of  thousands  of  'young 
Hves  lost  each  day  on  the  battlefields,  and  of  the  ruins 
of  so  many  cities  and  villages,  so  many  monuments, 
erected  through  the  piety  and  genius  of  our  forefathers. 

The  bitter  tears  which  flow  in  the  sanctity  of  homes 
and  at  the  foot  of  altars,  do  they  not  also  repeat  that  the 
price  of  the  continuation  of  the  contest  is  great,  too 
great  ? 

And  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  immense  conflict  can- 
not be  ended  without  violence  of  arms.  May  this  craze 
for  destruction  be  abandoned;  nations  do  not  perish. 
Humiliated  and  oppressed,  they  tremblingly  carry  the 
yoke  imposed  on  them  and  prepare  their  revenge,  trans- 
mitting from  generation  to  generation  a  sorrowful  herit- 
age of  hate  and  vengeance. 

Why  not  now  weigh  with  serene  conscience  the  rights 
and  just  aspiration  of  the  peoples?  Why  not  start  with 
good  will  a  direct  or  indirect  exchange  of  views  with  the 
object  of  considering  as  far  as  possible  these  rights  and 
aspirations,  and  thus  put  to  an  end  the  terrible  combat,  as 
has  been  the  case  previously  under  similar  circumstances  ? 

Blessed  be  he  who  first  extends  the  oUve  branch  and 
tenders  his  hand  to  the  enemy  in  offering  his  reasonable 
condition  of  peace. 

The  equilibrium  of  world  progress  and  the  security 
and  tranquillity  of  nations  repose  on  mutual  well-being 
and  respect  of  the  right  and  dignity  of  others  more  than 
on  the  number  of  armies  and  a  formidable  zone  of  fortresses. 

It  is  the  cry  of  peace  which  issues  from  our  supreme 
soul  this  sad  day  and  which  invites  the  true  friends  of 
peace  in  the  world  to  extend  their  hands  to  hasten  the 
end  of  a  war  which  for  a  year  has  transformed  Europe 
into  an  enormous  battlefield. 


58  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

Let  us  hope  for  the  reconcihation  of  the  States;  may 
the  people  once  again  become  brothers  and  return  to 
their  peaceful  labor  in  arts,  learning,  and  industry ;  may 
once  again  the  empire  of  justice  be  established ;  may  the 
people  decide  henceforth  to  confine  the  solution  of  their 
differences  no  longer  to  the  sword,  but  to  courts  of  jus- 
tice and  equity,  where  the  questions  may  be  studied  with 
necessary  calm  and  thought. 

This  will  be  the  most  beautiful  and  glorious  victory. 


A  STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  TWO  WORLDS 
Take  Jonescu 

In  all  our  long  history  there  has  never  been  a  time  of 
greater  gravity,  or  one  richer  in  possibilities,  or  one  more 
overwhelming  for  us  by  its  very  grandeur,  than  the  time 
through  which  the  world  is  now  passing;  and  naturally 
it  affects  us  too,  affects  us  more  closely  indeed  than  it 
affects  others. 

Shall  we  inquire,  gentlemen,  what  is  the  meaning  of 
that  which  is  happening  around  us?  Is  this  merely  a 
war  hke  all  other  wars?  Is  it  just  one  of  those  number- 
less historical  incidents  which  at  first  sight  seem  to  be 
important,  but,  as  one  realizes  later,  were  of  no  more 
than  passing  interest?  Or  are  we  indeed  face  to  face 
with  one  of  those  great  upheavals  which,  occurring  but 
rarely,  make  the  end  of  one  world  and  the  beginning  of 
another  ? 

Contemporaries,  gentlemen,  seldom  realize  the  impor- 
tance of  the  events  amid  which  they  live.  In  their  wars 
they  count  the  thousands  of  the  slain,  the  miUions  of 
money  lost;  but  rarely  do  they  take  into  account  the 
far-off  consequences  of  these  events,  obliged  as  they  are 

This  speech  was  delivered  in  the  Roumanian  Chamber  of  Deputies 
during  the  sitting  of  the  16th  and  17th  of  December,  1915. 

Monsieur  Jonescu  has  been  the  "strong  man  of  Roumania"  for 
some  time,  and  at  all  times  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  has  championed 
the  cause  of  the  Allied  Powers.  He  it  was  who  was  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  entrance  of  Roumania  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  France  and 
England. 

59 


60  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

by  the  necessities  of  life  to  go  on  living  their  eveiyday 
existence  amidst  the  tragedy  all  around. 

During  the  barbaric  invasions  nobody  took  into  ac- 
count what  transformations  they  involved.  Nobody 
knew  that  therefrom  might  result  the  death  of  civiliza- 
tion for  a  thousand  years.  If  people  had  realized  the 
meaning  of  these  things,  they  would  have  made  better 
defense  against  them.  At  the  time  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution people  had  no  idea  of  the  tremendous  consequences 
it  was  to  bring,  of  the  far  distance  they  would  reach. 
To-day,  gentlemen,  I  think  we  are  confronted,  not  with 
an  ordinary  war  which  will  simply  involve  a  certain 
changing  of  frontiers,  leaving  other  matters  very  much 
as  they  were  before.  We  are  faced  by  a  catastrophe 
involving  the  whole  of  the  human  race ;  we  have  before 
our  eyes  the  declining  twilight  of  one  world,  preceding 
the  dawn  of  another  and  a  new  world. 

And  note,  gentlemen,  how  grave  is  the  problem  with 
which  humanity  is  faced  to-day !  You  see  Italy,  instead 
of  accepting  a  gratuitous  increase  of  territory,  throwing 
herself  of  her  own  free  will  into  the  horrors  of  war.  And 
it  is  not  alonje  the  peoples  of  Europe  who  are  throbbing 
with  excitement  to-day.  Have  you  never  asked  your- 
selves what  these  new  nations  are  doing  in  the  great 
conflict  —  the  young  Republics  founded  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  across  the  ocean  ?  Why  is  it  that  we  see  Canada, 
Australia,  New  Zealand  enrolling  from  seven  to  eight 
per  cent  of  their  populations  as  volunteers?  Is  it 
for  love  of  the  mother  country?  Sentiment  does  not 
move  humanity  to  such  a  degree  as  that.  How  is  it  the 
conscience  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  become 
uneasy?  Out  of  love  for  England?  Nothing  of  the 
sort,  gentlemen.  To  attack  Great  Britain  has  always 
been  recognized  as  a  safe  and  popular  note  by  orators 


TAKE   JONESCU  61 

in  the  United  States.  It  is  known  as  "twisting  the 
British  Hon's  tail."  Why,  then,  is  it  disturbed,  this  de- 
mocracy of  a  hundred  milhon  souls,  engaged  in  making 
the  most  glorious  experiment  imaginable :  the  creation 
of  a  civihzation  without  prejudices,  with  no  class  distinc- 
tions, with  no  monarchy,  no  miUtarism,  no  hindrance 
of  any  sort  —  a  civihzation  based  solely  on  nationalist 
sovereignty  carried  to  its  extremest  limits? 

This  entire  movement  can  have  but  one  explanation, 
namely,  that  we  are  confronted  with  a  transformation  of 
the  human  race,  a  transformation  which  expresses  itself 
in  the  form  of  a  general  massacre.  It  is  a  struggle  be- 
tween two  worlds,  and  we  shall  see  which  of  the  two  will 
succeed  in  obtaining  the  mastery.  Were  it  otherwise, 
this  war  would  not  be  possible,  and  it  would  not  be  waged 
with  the  fury  that  distinguishes  it  from  all  other  wars. 

Gentlemen,  the  truth  is  that  in  this  war,  which  was 
most  certainly  provoked  by  the  Germans,  we  see  the  last 
attempt  made  by  a  single  people  to  secure  for  itself  a 
universal  hegemony. 

If  the  German  soldier  were  to  win  to-day,  the  first 
result  would  be  that  the  same  military  force,  which  is  the 
greatest  in  the  world,  would  also  be  the  greatest  naval 
force,  and  there  would  be  no  more  independence,  no  more 
liberty  for  any  one  in  the  world,  not  even  for  the  great 
American  democracy.  On  the  day  when  one  and  the 
same  State  had  domination  not  only  on  land,  but  also  on 
sea  —  the  day  when  the  Roman  Empire  should  be  recon- 
stituted in  conformity  with  the  affirmation  once  made 
by  the  Emperor  Wilham,  that  the  hour  would  come 
when  all  men  would  be  happy  to  call  themselves  Ger- 
man, just  as  formerly  each  exclaimed  joyously  Civis 
romanus  sum  —  then  the  free  life  of  each  one  of  us  would 
be  at  an  end. 


IT  CAN  BE  DONE 

David  Lloyd  George 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  precious  lives  depend  upon 
whether  you  are  going  to  bring  this  war  to  an  end  in  a 
year  victoriously,  or  whether  it  is  going  to  linger  on  in 
blood-stained  paths  for  years.  Labor  has  got  the  answer. 
It  can  be  done. 

But  I  wonder  whether  it  will  not  be  too  late.  Ah, 
fatal  words !  Too  late  in  moving  here,  too  late  in  arriv- 
ing there,  too  late  in  coming  to  this  decision,  too  late  in 
starting  with  enterprises,  too  late  in  preparing.  In  this 
war  the  footsteps  of  the  alhed  forces  have  been  dogged 
by  the  mocking  specter  of  "Too  late,"  and  unless  we 
quicken  our  movements  damnation  will  fall  on  the  sacred 
cause  for  which  so  much  gallant  blood  has  flowed. 

I  beg  employers  and  workmen  at  any  rate,  not  to  have 
"Too  late"  inscribed  upon  the  portals  of  their  work- 
shops, and  that  is  my  appeal.  Everything  depends  upon 
it  during  the  next  few  months  in  this  war.  We  have 
had  the  cooperation  of  our  allies.  Great  results  have 
been  arrived  at.  At  the  last  conference  we  had  of  the 
Allies  in  Paris  decisions  were  reached  which  will  affect 
the  whole  conduct  of  the  war.  The  carrying  of  them  out 
depends  upon  the  workmen  of  this  country.     The  super- 

On  December  20,  1915,  David  Lloyd  George,  then  Minister  of  Muni- 
tions in  the  British  Cabinet,  delivered  this  splendid  criticism  of  the 
Asquith  Ministry  before  the  House  of  Commons.  This  speech,  with  its 
ever  recurrent  theme  "too  late,"  sounded  the  keynote  for  the  downfall 
of  the  coalition  cabinet. 

62 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  63 

ficial  facts  of  the  war  are  for  the  moment  against  us. 
All  the  fundamental  facts  are  in  our  favor.  That  means 
we  have  every  reason  for  looking  the  facts  steadily  in  the 
face.  There  is  nothing  but  encouragement  in  them  if 
we  look  beneath  the  surface. 

The  chances  of  victory  are  still  with  us.  We  have 
thrown  away  many  chances.  But  for  the  most  part  the 
best  still  remains.  In  this  war  the  elements  that  make 
for  success  in  a  short  war  were  with  our  enemies,  and  all 
the  advantages  that  make  for  victory  in  a  long  war  were 
ours  —  and  they  still  are.  Better  preparation  before 
the  war,  interior  lines,  unity  of  command  —  those  be- 
longed to  the  enemy.  More  than  that,  undoubtedly  he 
has  shown  greater  readiness  to  learn  the  lessons  of  the 
war  and  to  adapt  himself  to  them.  He  had  a  better  con- 
ception at  first  of  what  war  really  meant.  Heavy  guns, 
machine  guns,  trench  warfare  —  it  was  his  study.  Our 
study  was  for  the  sea.  We  have  accomplished  our  task 
to  the  last  letter  of  the  promise.  But  the  advantages  of 
a  protracted  war  are  ours.  We  have  an  overwhelming 
superiority  in  the  raw  material  of  war.  It  is  still  with 
us  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Central  Powers  have 
increased  their  reserves  of  men  and  material  by  their 
successes. 

The  overwhelming  superiority  is  still  with  us.  We 
have  the  command  of  the  sea  that  gives  us  ready  access 
to  neutral  countries,  and,  above  all  —  and  this  tells  in  a 
long  war  —  we  have  the  better  cause.  It  is  better  for 
the  heart  —  nations  do  not  endure  to  the  end  for  a  bad 
cause.  All  these  advantages  are  ours.  But  this  is  the 
moment  of  intense  preparation.  It  is  the  moment  of 
putting  the  whole  of  our  energies  at  home  into  prepar- 
ing for  the  blow  to  be  struck  abroad.  Our  fleet  and  the 
gallantry  of  the  troops  of  our  allies  have  given  us  time  to 


64  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

muster  our  reserves.  Let  us  utilize  that  time  without  the 
loss  of  a  moment.  Let  us  cast  aside  the  fond  illusion 
that  you  can  win  victory  by  an  elaborate  pretense  that 
you  are  doing  so.  Let  us  fling  to  one  side  rivalries,  trade 
jealousies,  jealousies  professional  or  political.  Let  us  be 
one  people  —  one  in  aim,  one  in  action,  one  in  resolution, 
so  to  win  the  most  sacred  cause  ever  intrusted  to  a  great 
nation. 


BELGIUM'S  DEBT  TO  FRANCE 
Henry  Carton  de  Wiart 

During  the  dark  hours  through  which  we  are  now  pass- 
ing, Belgium,  fettered  and  mute,  treats  with  stoic  dis- 
dain both  the  brutahty  and  the  insinuating  attitude 
alternating  in  the  system  of  oppression  imposed  upon  her 
by  the  enemy.  Worn  by  suffering,  he  would  like  her  to 
call  for  Peace  in  a  wail  of  woe  that  would  be  heard  even 
at  Havre !  He  flatters  himself  that  he  can  compel  her 
to  betray  her  companions  in  this  struggle.  By  mis- 
directed advice  in  the  press,  he  endeavors  to  influence 
the  members  of  the  Belgian  Government.  Their  slightest 
acts,  and  even  their  silence,  being  misconstrued,  com- 
mented upon,  and  distorted  into  signs  and  tokens  of  a 
desire  for  making  a  separate  peace,  by  which  means 
Germany  hopes  to  break  up  the  insurmountable  resistance 
of  her  adversaries.  Gentlemen,  the  Belgian  people  have 
resolved  to  suffer  till  the  hour  of  deliverance;  justice 
and  inevitable  reparation  have  sounded  for  her,  she  fol- 
lows the  example  of  her  Great  Cardinal,  that  pure  image 
of  ardent  patriotism ! 

Belgium,  in  the  darkness  that  surrounds  her,  in  the 
silence  of  imprisonment  which  separates  her  from  the 
rest  of  the  world,  has  heard  with  a  thrill  the  distant  boom- 
ing of  the  cannon  at  Verdun.     She  understands  a  great 

A  great  French-Belgian  demonstration  was  held  in  Paris,  March  11, 
1916,  at  the  Sorbonne.  M.  de  Wiart,  Belgian  Minister  of  Justice,  ren- 
dered homage,  in  these  words,  to  France  and  Frenchmen. 

65 


66  THE  FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

struggle  is  going  on  there  at  present,  in  which  French 
valor  forms  a  rampart  for  the  liberty  of  nations  against 
the  insane  power  that  has  sworn  to  enslave  them.  The 
future  of  Europe  depends  upon  the  annihilation  of 
Prussian  militarism ;  more  especially  the  future  of  small 
nations,  desirous  of  living  and  flourishing  in  freedom, 
in  order  to  contribute  by  their  labor  and  efforts  towards 
the  general  progress  of  humanity.  History  has  taught 
us  that  the  equihbrium  of  European  power  is  never 
disturbed  but  momentarily  under  the  thrust  of  con- 
querors, and  that  it  can  always  counteract  the  oscilla- 
tions their  ambition  would  like  to  create  therein. 

So  it  will  be  now.  Violence  and  brutal  strength  can- 
not kill  the  lives  of  peoples  having  the  will  to  Hve.  The 
ma^  of  Europe  may  be  modified,  but  it  will  not  be  traced 
in  one  and  the  same  shade  of  color,  indicating  a  sort  of 
Holy  Germanic  Empire,  a  parody  and  resurrection  of  the 
past.  The  elements  of  those  races  having  given  proof 
of  their  vitality,  will  finally  reconstitute  themselves  and 
renew  their  existence  in  common,  flourishing  in  an  atmos- 
phere which  has  been  purified  by  the  gentle  breath  of 
peace.  The  small  nations  will  not  then  forget  what  th^y 
owe  to  France. 


TOAST  TO  PREMIER  ASQUITH 

SiGNOR  Antonio  Salandra 

To  the  illustrious  guest  who  by  his  presence  in  Rome 
at  this  solemn  hour  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  de- 
sired to  give  us  a  living  proof  of  the  solidarity  of  the  ties 
which  bind  the  great  British  Empire  to  new  Italy,  I 
express  with  much  pleasure  and  emotion  the  greetings 
of  the  Parliament  and  Government  of  Italy. 

Parliament  and  Government  are,  in  Italy  as  in  Eng- 
land, bound  together  in  an  indissoluble  harmony, 
working  under  the  supreme  guarantee  of  the  national 
monarchy  —  a  monarchy  which  is  the  protector  of  all 
the  most  ardent  aspirations  of  civil  and  social  progress. 
And  since  your  noble  efforts,  in  which,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, we  cooperated  with  all  our  power,  were  unsuc- 
cessful in  warding  off  the  premeditated  conflict  which 
for  twenty  months  has  been  drenching  the  world  with 
blood.  Parliament  and  the  Government,  in  Italy  as  in 
England,  have  repeatedly  affirmed  their  determination 
not  to  lay  down  their  arms  until  our  just  cause  has  been 
victorious. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  historic  "Conference  of 
the  Allies"  in  Paris  on  March  28,  1916,  Premier  Asquith  of  Great  Britain 
made  a  visit  to  Rome.  The  visit  had  as  its  objective,  of  course,  a 
"closer  cementing  of  the  friendship"  between  Italy  and  Great  Britain. 

Antonio  Salandra  was  born  at  Troia,  near  Foggia,  in  1853.  For 
several  years  he  was  a  professor  in  the  University  of  Rome.  In  1891 
he  was  made  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  Finance  and  for  the  Treasury 
in  1893.  He  became  Prime  Minister  of  Italy  in  1914,  but  was  replaced 
by  Paolo  Boselli  in  August,  1916. 

67 


68  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

How  firm  and  unshakable  our  determination  is  you 
will  be  told  to-morrow  by  the  grandson  of  Victor  Emmanuel 
the  Great,  who  will  show  you  the  dogged  efforts  w^hich 
our  nation  in  arms  puts  forth  every  day  against  the 
immense  obstacles  of  nature  and  the  powerful  defenses  of 
the  enemy.  We,  who  humbly  but  with  firmness  of  heart 
are  proceeding  to  carry  out  our  arduous  tasks,  inspired 
by  the  ideals  of  the  immortal  authors  of  our  united 
Italy,  recall  how  your  country  always  gave  them  generous 
and  inspiring  sympathy.  We  recall  those  associates  in 
the  glorious  peace  of  history  —  Giuseppe  Mazzini  sur- 
rounded by  affectionate  veneration,  Giuseppe  Garibaldi 
hailed  as  a  conqueror,  Camillo  di  Cavour  honored  in  the 
greatest  assembly  of  the  modern  world  with  tributes  which 
have  never  been  given  any  other  foreign  statesman. 
We  recall  Gladstone  denouncing  those  Governments 
which  oppressed  us,  and  Palmerston  who  wished  to  keep 
open  the  sea-routes  for  the  ships  of  the  Thousand. 

You  worthily  occupy  the  place  of  your  great  predeces- 
sors, who  will  never  die  in  the  grateful  memory  of  Italians  ; 
towards  you  there  will  go  out  from  our  people  a  feeling  of 
lively  sympathy  and  confid(?nce,  of  which,  as  of  the  warmth 
of  our  sun,  I  hope  you  will  take  back  a  kindly  impression 
to  your  country.  You  can  say  to  j'our  fellow  country- 
men that  the  Parliament  and  Government  of  Italy, 
henceforward  free,  are  proud  to  carry  out  the  last  act  of 
our  national  Resurrection,  bound  to  you  by  an  indissolu- 
ble tie  of  interests,  forces,  and  ideals.  I  drink  to  your 
Excellency's  health,  to  the  greatness  of  the  British  Empire 
in  peace  and  freedom,  and  to  the  victory  of  the  Allied 
arms. 


TOAST  TO   ITALY  AND   SIGNOR  SALANDRA 

Herbert  Henry  Asquith,  Prime  Minister  of 
Great  Britain 

The  reception  which  you  have  given  me  here  to-day 
and  the  kind  and  eloquent  words  of  your  Excellency  give 
me  peculiar  gratification.  As  an  old  Parliamentarian 
myself,  it  delights  me  to  have  an  opportunity  of  exchang- 
ing fraternal  salutations  with  the  members  of  the  Senate 
and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

Parliamentary  institutions  took  their  rise  in  England, 
and  after  many  centuries  of  experience,  in  all  free  coun- 
tries, they  have  been  found,  with  all  their  imperfections, 
to  be  the  best  instrument  that  has  been  devised  for  the 
interpretation  and  the  effective  action  of  national  opin- 
ion in  the  domain  of  government. 

As  you,  Sir,  have  reminded  me,  the  friendship  —  may 
I  not  say  the  affection  —  between  Italy  and  my  country 
is  not  a  plant  of  recent  growth.  I  can,  myself,  remember 
the  time  when  Italy  was  still  divided  by  the  accidents  of 
history,  and  the  efforts  of  the  great  patriots  whose  names 
you  have  recalled  were  directed  to  the  double  object  of 
expelling  the  last  remnants  of  foreign  rule,  and  uniting 
in  one  body,  as  they  had  long  been  united  in  spirit,  all 
the  constituent  elements  of  your  integral  national  life. 
In  every  stage  of  that  struggle  it  is  not  an  exaggeration 
to  say  that  the  emancipators  of  Italy  had  with  them  the 

This  is  the  reply  of  Mr.  Asquith  to  Signer  Salandra's  toast  on  the 
occasion  of  his  (Asquith's)  visit  to  Rome  in  March,  1916. 

69 


70  THE    FORUM    OF    DEMOCRACY 

unfailing  interest,  the  unbounded  sympathy,  and  the 
inextinguishable  hopes  of  the  British  people. 

In  truth.  Sir,  diverse  in  many  ways  as  have  been  the 
lines  of  our  development,  the  national  life  in  our  two 
countries  is  to  a  large  extent  fed  from  the  same  sources 
and  animated  by  the  same  spirit.  Hatred  of  tyranny, 
love  of  justice,  the  passion  for  liberty,  the  sense  of  the 
equality  of  all  men  before  the  law,  free  opinion,  free 
speech — these  are  the  ideas  that  are  held  and  the  princi- 
ples of  policy  which  are  practiced  with  equal  ardor  and 
conviction  in  Great  Britain  and  in  Italy.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  the  years  since  your  unity  was  finally  achieved 
have  been  j^ears  of  unbroken  friendship  between  the  two 
nations  —  a  friendship  which  no  misunderstanding  or 
mischance  has  ever  been  allowed  even  for  a  moment  to 
imperil. 

Such  were  our  happy  relations  before  the  war.  To- 
day we  are  not  only  friends  but  Allies,  finding  in  our 
common  efforts,  our  common  sacrifices,  and  our  common 
hopes  a  new  and  ever  more  intimate  bond  of  union. 
We  watch  with  equal  pride  the  glorious  gallantry  and 
skill  of  the  Allied  Armies  and  Navies.  This  is  not  a  war 
which  can  be  won  merely  by  the  multiplication  of  fight- 
ing men  and  the  accumulation  of  munitions  and  material. 
It  calls  for  the  organization,  the  coordination,  the  con- 
centration in  due  proportion  and  proper  perspective  of 
all  the  various  resources  of  the  Allies.  We  have  to  work 
in  concert,  not  only  in  the  battlefield,  not  only  on  the  high 
seas,  not  only  in  the  air  above  and  under  the  waters,  but 
also  in  the  not  less  essential  domain  of  industry,  of  trans- 
port, of  finance.  Finally,  I  ask,  could  these  efforts  and 
sacrifices  be  inspired  by  a  worthier  cause  ?  Independence 
for  the  smaller  and  weaker  states,  respect  for  treaties  and 
for  public  law,  resolute  resistance  to  the  supremacy  of 


HERBERT   HENRY   ASQUITH  71 

brute  force ;  in  a  word  —  for  these  are  all  means  to  an 
end  —  the  free  life  of  a  free  Europe.  Together  we  stand 
or  fall ;  and  standing  together,  as  we  do,  we  shall  achieve 
a  decisive  and  durable  victory,  not  for  ourselves  alone 
but  for  posterity,  for  the  future  of  civilization,  for  the 
dearest  and  most  precious  interests  of  humanity. 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE   CONFLICT 
Baron  Rosen 

Aside  from  all  political,  economic,  and  psychological 
motives,  the  deep  significance  of  the  conflict  before  us, 
and  the  source  of  the  determination  of  the  Allies  to  fight 
to  a  finish  against  Germany's  desire  to  dominate  by  brutal 
force  the  whole  world,  is  the  conviction  rooted  in  the 
public  mind  that  the  German  doctrine  of  "Might  is  Right" 
constitutes  the  gravest  danger  to  the  human  race,  and 
cannot  be  tolerated. 

In  such  a  just  cause  the  whole  civilized  world  should 
have  been  on  the  side  of  the  Allies,  especially  the  coun- 
tries geographically  so  situated  that  they  are  in  danger 
of  having  to  share  the  fate  of  brave  and  hapless  Belgium. 
Why  is  it,  then,  that  in  reality  their  attitude  is  some- 
what indifferent?  It  is  undoubtedly  in  our  power  to 
remove  one  of  the  causes  which  make  the  public  opinion 
in  neutral  countries  hesitate  about  taking  up  an  attitude 
favorable  to  us. 

In  this  war  against  German  absolutism,  in  this  struggle 
for  right  and  justice,  and  for  the  freedom  and  independence 
of  the  smaller  nations,  we  fight  hand-in-hand  with  the 

This  speech  was  delivered  in  June,  1916,  by  Baron  Rosen  in  the 
Upper  Chamber  of  the  Russian  Duma. 

The  speaker,  formerly  ambassador  to  the  United  States,  is  one  of 
the  ablest  men  in  Russia.  The  particular  significance  of  this  liberal 
speech  was  that  it  voiced  the  spirit  of  liberal  Russia  nine  months  before 
the  Revolution.  As  a  result  of  it.  Baron  Rosen  was  dismissed  from  the 
appointive  Upper  Council,  and  the  final  reaction  toward  despotism  set 
in,  which  led  directly  to  the  Revolution.  The  speech  is,  therefore, 
really  hiatorio 

72 


Baron  Romanovitch  Rosen 


BARON   ROSEN  78 

most  advanced  peoples  in  Europe,  and  we  cannot  win 
the  sympathy  of  the  civiHzed  world  unless  we  bring  our 
internal  front,  so  to  speak,  on  a  level  with  the  political 
ideas  of  our  valiant  allies,  and  apply  them  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  border  provinces  and  in  the  government  of 
the  nationahties  forming  part  of  the  population  of  Russia. 

There  are  two  diametrically  opposed  methods  of  govern- 
ment. One  is  the  method  adopted  by  our  allies.  Its 
results  were  seen  in  the  enthusiastic  outbursts  of  patriot- 
ism throughout  the  self-governing  British  Colonies,  and 
even  among  the  non-English  elements  —  the  Irish, 
French-Canadians,  Boers,  and  Indians.  They  all  rushed 
to  the  defense  of  the  British  Empire.  Thanks  to  this 
method  of  government  it  was  possible  for  England  to 
intrust  the  chief  command  of  the  troops  in  South  Africa 
to  that  very  general  who,  sixteen  years  ago,  led  the  Boers 
against  the  English,  and  who  is  now  Prime  Minister  of 
British  South  Africa. 

The  other  method  is  that  of  the  Germans.  They  have 
applied  it  to  the  population  of  Posen,  Schleswig,  Alsace 
and  Lorraine,  with  the  result  that  even  the  pure  German 
portion  of  the  population  of  Alsace  retained  its  passionate 
attachment  for  France,  who  never  treated  them  as  second- 
rate  citizens,  or  as  possible  traitors  to  their  country. 

In  our  policy  toward  our  border  provinces,  and  toward 
the  so-called  non-Russian  nationahties,  we  have,  to  the 
greatest  detriment  of  the  real  interests  of  Russia,  followed 
closely  the  German  system  of  government.  We  have 
even  improved  upon  it  by  an  addition  of  medieval  reli- 
gious intolerance.  People  may  say  that  war  is  decided 
by  military  power  and  not  by  the  degree  of  sympathy 
which  neutral  countries  may  show  for  the  home  policy  of 
this  or  that  State.  The  German  Government  obviously 
regards  the  question  in  a  different  light,  or  else  it  would 


74  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

not  be  spending  millions  on  propaganda  in  all  countries, 
even  the  remotest  in  the  world.  Not  only  do  we  not 
counteract  this  propaganda,  but  by  our  domestic  policy 
we  supply  our  enemies  with  weapons  with  which  to 
set  against  us  the  public  opinion  of  such  countries  as  the 
United  States  of  America  —  the  only  great  neutral  power 
—  and  our  neighbor  Sweden.  It  is  inconceivable  that 
those  who  guide  our  home  pohcy  should  not  be  able  to 
realize  that  by  our  medieval  treatment  of  the  Jewish 
population  of  Russia,  and  by  our  systematic  outrages 
upon  the  constitutional  habit  of  mind  of  the  Finnish 
people,  we  are  helping  enormously  the  pro-German  propa- 
ganda in  neutral  countries  which  our  enemies  carry  on 
with  lavish  means  to  the  detriment  of  the  cause  of  the 
Allies.  The  question  is,  why  has  not  our  Government 
settled  these  questions  once  and  for  all,  as  it  did  —  alas, 
so  late  —  the  question  of  Polish  autonomy  ?  The  only 
answer  is  that  our  Government  did  not  wish  to  renounce 
a  traditional  poHcy  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  our  militant 
Nationalists. 

It  is  therefore  incumbent  upon  the  Legislative  Cham- 
bers to  assist  the  Government  in  this  matter,  and  to  intro- 
duce bills  abolishing  all  the  restrictive  laws  against  the 
Jews,  and  cancehng  the  laws  of  July  17  concerning  Finland. 
Such  measures  would  undoubtedly  facilitate  the  task  of 
the  Government  in  international  matters,  and  would  meet 
with  the  lively  appreciation  of  our  valiant  allies. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  great  European  War 
is  not  only  a  conflict  of  interests,  but  also  of  ideas  and 
principles.  In  fighting  against  German  miUtarism,  Russia 
is  taking  her  stand  on  the  side  of  those  who  fight  for  the 
triumph  of  the  idea  of  Right  and  Freedom,  and  it  is 
necessary  that  in  Russia  there  shall  henceforth  be  no 
people  oppressed  or  deprived  of  their  inherent  rights. 


THE  ROLE  OF  FRANCE   IN  THIS  WAR 
Raymond  Poincake 

At  the  call  of  their  country  in  danger  they  started  up, 
seized  their  weapons,  and  hurried  forth  to  protect  their 
frontiers.  Old  as  well  as  young,  fathers  as  well  as  sons, 
shed  their  blood  in  one  sublime  cause  —  the  safety  of 
their  country  and  the  future  of  humanity. 

The  French  had  too  frequently  shown  their  bravery, 
for  any  one  to  dare  to  doubt  their  military  worth ;  but,  on 
the  strength  of  I  know  not  what  legend,  we  were  believed 
to  be  incapable  of  long-thought-out  plans  and  tenacious 
effort.  Two  years  have  passed  without  shaking  French 
resolution,  without  weakening  French  constancy. 

It  is  because  we  have  offered  invincible  resistance,  not 
only  to  the  blows  inflicted  by  the  German  armies,  but 
also  to  insidious  German  propaganda  and  campaigns  for 
demoralization,  that  the  Allied  Staffs  have  been  able  to 
come  to  an  understanding  which  is  daily  growing  more 
definite,  that  their  governments  are  more  closely  united 
and  that  our  combined  action  has,  with  time,  and  under 
favorable  impulse  acquired  more  strength  and  power. 

Just  as  our  country  during  these  long  months  has  given 
splendid  proof  of  its  patience,  reflexion,  and  sang-froid,  so 

"On  July  14,  1916,  France's  National  F§te  Day,  at  an  official  cere- 
mony organized  in  Paris  in  memory  of  the  men  who  have  died  for  their 
country,  M.  Poincare,  in  the  presence  of  battalions  from  all  the  allied 
troops,  justly  rendered  homage  to  our  departed  heroes."  —  Taken  from 
the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  Bulletin. 

75 


76  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

our  generals,  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  men 
—  whom  France  loves  to  associate  together  in  her  praise, 
for  they  all  share  the  glory  of  the  battlefield  —  are  en- 
titled to  have  some  of  the  finest  pages  in  the  annals  of  our 
history  consecrated  to  their  memory. 

During  endless  weeks,  under  the  concentrated  fire  of 
artillery  of  all  calibers,  over  ground  soaked  with  rain, 
and  ploughed  up  by  shells,  our  battalions,  defying  the 
enemy,  defended  the  outposts  of  Verdun  step  by  step, 
unaware  until  the  last  few  days  how  greatly  their  endur- 
ance and  stoicism  would  facilitate  the  combined  opera- 
tions of  the  Allies  elsewhere.  Humanity  has  never  yet 
witnessed  any  sight  of  more  heroic  grandeur. 

The  Central  Empires  can  retain  no  illusion  as  to  the 
possibility  of  reducing  the  Allies  and  wresting  from  their 
lassitude  a  peace  which  for  the  Prussian  militarists  would 
be  but  a  stratagem  wherewith  to  mask  preparation  for 
fresh  aggression.  It  is  in  vain  that  our  enemies  study  the 
military  map  which  they  used  to  invoke  with  such  boast- 
ful satisfaction.  They  perceive  now  with  uneasiness, 
that,  on  the  Somme  as  on  the  Styr,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Karpathians  as  on  the  summits  of  the  Alps,  the  lines  upon 
that  changing  map  have  already  been  altered  consider- 
ably, and  they  know  that  to  make  it  complete,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  add  thereto  the  seas  which  are  closed  to  them, 
and  the  colonies  which  have  been  taken  from  them. 
They  well  know  also  that  the  strength  of  the  belligerent 
countries  is  not  so  much  reckoned  on  the  geographical 
position  of  field-trenches,  as  upon  the  condition  ofj  the 
fighting  troops,  their  reserves,  their  capacity  for  attacking 
and  for  resisting  attack,  and  upon  the  moral  temper  of 
the  peoples  and  armies. 

As  for  us,  we  shall  not  fail,  even  if  we  were  fighting  for 
honor  alone,  and  we  are  fighting  for  honor  and  for  life. 


RAYMOND    POINCARfi  77 

To  be,  or  not  to  be,  is  the  poignant  problem  before  the 
great  European  nations,  and  for  a  free  democracy  such  as 
ours  it  would  be  "not  to  be,"  if  we  vegetated,  struggling 
in  the  suffocating  and  unhealthy  shadow  of  a  German 
Empire,  strong  enough  to  hold  over  the  whole  of  Europe 
its  heavy  hegemony. 

No,  by  the  grief  of  our  French  families,  by  the  long 
torture  of  our  occupied  country,  by  the  blood  of  our  sol- 
diers ;  no,  we  shall  not  suffer  our  sorrow  to  weaken  our 
will !  The  more  we  hate  war,  the  more  passionately 
must  we  labor  to  prevent  its  return,  the  more  must  we 
work  and  pray  that  peace  may  bring  us  together  with  the 
complete  restitution  of  our  invaded  provinces  —  invaded 
provinces  of  yesterday,  and  invaded  provinces  of  forty-six 
years  ago  —  the  reparation  of  Right  violated  at  the  ex- 
pense of  France  and  the  Allies,  and  the  guarantees  neces- 
sary to  the  definitive  safeguarding  of  our  national  freedom. 


VERDUN 

Raymond  Poincare 

Gentlemen,  these  walls  mark  the  spot  where  the  great- 
est hopes  of  imperial  Germany  were  dashed  to  pieces.  It 
was  here  that  she  sought  to  achieve  blustering  ostentatious 
success,  and  here  that  France  quietly  and  firmly  replied : 
"You  shall  not  pass."  When  the  attack  against  Verdun 
began,  on  February  21st,  the  enemy  had  a  double  objec- 
tive in  view :  he  intended  to  forestall  a  general  offensive 
on  the  part  of  the  Allies ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  strike  a 
blow,  that  would  be  much  talked  of,  by  rapidly  capturing 
a  fortress  whose  historical  fame  would,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
German  people,  increase  its  military  importance.  The 
ruins  of  these  Germanic  dreams  are  now  lying  at  our  feet. 

The  splendid  troops,  who,  under  the  command  of 
Generals  Petain  and  Nivelle,  held  out  against  the  formi- 
dable onslaught  of  the  German  Army  for  many  long  months, 
frustrated  the  enemy's  designs  by  their  valor  and  their 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  It  is  they  who  have  enabled  all 
our  Allies  to  work,  with  increasing  activity,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  war  material ;  it  is  they  who  have  now  bril- 
liantly marked  by  the  light  of  their  heroism  the  boundary 
of  Germanic  force,  thus  imparting  to  the  world  confidence 
in  our  final  victory ;  in  short,  it  was  the  resistance  of  these 

This  speech  was  delivered  at  Verdun,  September  13,  1916.  The 
occasion  for  the  address  was  the  conferring  of  medals  and  decorations 
upon  the  heroic  city  of  Verdun,  "in  recognition  of  its  valorous  defense," 
by  the  French  and  Allied  Governments.  The  ceremony  took  place  in 
the  casements  of  the  citadel. 

78 


RAYMOND   POINCARfi  79 

troops  which,  by  assuring  the  reahzation  of  the  plan 
formed  by  the  different  Staffs,  left  Russia  time  to  carry 
out  her  triumphant  offensives  of  June  4th  and  July  2d. 
It  also  enabled  Italy  to  make  her  brilliant  attack  on 
Gorizia,  on  June  25th,  and,  from  July  1st  on,  allowed  the 
Anglo-French  forces  to  conduct  their  offensive  on  the 
Somme.  It  also  permitted  the  army  of  the  East  to  make 
its  preparations,  to  concentrate  its  different  elements,  and 
lend  fraternal  assistance  to  our  new  Allies,  the  Rumanians, 
in  their  conflict  with  Germano-Bulgarians.  Honor  to  the 
soldiers  of  Verdun !  they  sowed  the  seed  of  the  coming 
harvest  and  watered  it  with  their  blood. 

You  see  here,  gentlemen,  the  just  return  of  things. 
The  name  of  Verdun,  to  which  Germany  in  her  fond  dream 
had  given  a  symbolic  signification  that  was  to  have 
shortly  evoked  —  she  thought  —  in  the  minds  of  men,  a 
brilhant  defeat  for  our  armies,  together  with  the  irre- 
mediable discouragement  of  our  country  and  the  passive 
acceptance  of  a  German  peace ;  this  name  stands,  hence- 
forth, in  neutral  countries,  and  among  our  Alhes,  for  what 
is  noblest,  purest,  and  best  in  the  French  character.  It 
has  become,  so  to  speak,  a  synonym  for  Patriotism, 
Bravery,  and  Generosity.  Throughout  the  ages,  in  every 
corner  of  the  globe,  the  name  of  Verdun  will  resound  like 
a  shout  of  Victory  and  Joy,  sent  up  by  a  free  human  race. 


THE  WAR'S  LEGACY  OF  HATRED 

Maurice  Maeterlinck 

Before  we  reach  the  end  of  this  war,  whose  days  of 
grief  and  terror  now  seem  to  be  numbered,  let  us  weigh 
for  the  last  time  in  our  minds  the  words  of  hatred  and 
malediction  which  it  has  so  often  wrung  from  us. 

We  have  to  deal  with  the  strangest  of  enemies.  He 
has  deliberately,  scientifically,  in  full  possession  of  his 
senses,  without  necessity  or  excuse,  revived  all  the  crimes 
which  we  had  believed  to  be  forever  buried  in  the  bar- 
barous past.  He  has  trampled  under  foot  all  the  pre- 
cepts which  the  human  race  had  so  painfully  gleaned  out 
of  the  cruel  darknesses  of  its  origins ;  he  has  violated  all 
the  laws  of  justice,  of  humanity,  of  loyalty,  of  honor,  from 
the  highest,  which  almost  touch  the  divine,  to  the  simplest 
and  most  elementary,  which  still  appertain  to  the  lower 
orders.  There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  on  this  point.  The 
proof  of  it  has  been  established  and  reestablished,  the 
certitude  definitively  acquired. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  the 
enemy  has  displayed  virtues  which  it  would  not  be  right 
for  us  to  deny ;    for  one  honors  one's  self  by  recognizing 

In  October  of  1916  thia  article  appeared  in  Les  Annales,  Paris.  It 
was  later  translated  for  the  Current  History  Magazine,  through  whoso 
courtesy  it  is  here  reprinted. 

The  Belgian  Maeterlinck,  born  1862,  is  well  known  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic  as  an  author  and  playwright.  He  began  publishing  his 
works  about  1890.  Among  his  best-known  plays  are  "PcUeas  and 
Meliaande,"  "The  Blue  Bird,"  and  "The  Unknown  Guest." 

80 


MAURICE   MAETERLINCK  81 

the  valor  of  those  whom  one  combats.  He  has  gone  to 
death  in  deep,  compact,  discipHned  masses,  with  a  bhnd, 
obstinate,  hopeless  heroism,  for  which  history  furnishes 
no  example  equally  somber,  and  which  often  has  com- 
pelled our  admiration  and  our  pity. 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  heroism  is  not  like  that 
which  we  love.  For  us  heroism  should  be,  above  all, 
voluntary,  free  from  all  restraint,  active,  ardent,  joyous, 
spontaneous ;  whereas  with  them  it  is  mixed  with  much 
of  servility,  of  passivity,  of  sadness,  of  gloomy,  ignorant 
submission,  and  of  fears  more  or  less  base.  Yet  in  a 
moment  of  peril  these  distinctions  vanish  for  the  most 
part ;  no  force  on  earth  could  drive  toward  death  a  nation 
that  did  not  have  within  itself  the  will  to  confront  death. 

Our  soldiers  have  not  deceived  themselves  on  this  point. 
Ask  those  who  return  from  the  trenches.  They  execrate 
the  enemy;  they  have  a  horror  of  the  aggressor,  unjust, 
arrogant,  gross,  too  often  cruel  and  perfidious ;  they  do 
not  hate  the  man,  they  pity  him ;  and,  after  the  battle, 
in  the  defenseless  wounded  or  the  disarmed  prisoner  they 
recognize  with  astonishment  a  brother  in  misery  who,  like 
themselves,  has  been  trying  to  do  his  duty,  and  who  has 
laws  which  he  considers  high  and  necessary.  Underneath 
the  intolerable  enemy  they  see  the  unfortunate  mortal 
who  likewise  is  bearing  the  burden  of  life. 

Leaving  out  of  account  the  unpardonable  aggression, 
and  the  inexpiable  violation  of  treaties,  very  little  is  lack- 
ing to  make  this  war,  despite  its  madness,  a  bloody  but 
magnificent  testimonial  of  grandeur,  of  heroism,  of  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice.  Humanity  was  ready  to  raise  itself 
above  itself,  to  surpass  all  that  it  had  achieved  up  to  this 
hour.  And  it  has  done  it.  We  have  not  known  of  nations 
that  were  capable,  through  months  and  years,  of  renounc- 
ing their  rest,   their  security,  their  wealth,   their  well- 


82  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

being,  all  that  they  possessed  and  loved,  even  Hfe  itself, 
to  accomplish  what  they  believed  to  be  their  duty.  We 
had  never  seen  whole  nations  that  were  able  to  under- 
stand and  admit  that  the  happiness  of  each  of  those  living 
at  the  moment  of  trial  does  not  count  when  it  is  a  ques- 
tion of  the  honor  of  those  no  longer  living  or  of  the  happi- 
ness of  those  not  yet  born. 

Here  we  stand  on  summits  that  had  never  before  been 
attained.  And  if,  on  the  part  of  our  enemies,  this  un- 
exampled renunciation  had  not  been  poisoned  at  its 
source,  if  the  war  which  they  wage  against  us  had  been 
as  beautiful,  as  loyal,  as  generous,  as  chivalrous  as  that 
which  we  wage  against  them,  one  might  believe  that  it 
was  to  be  the  last  war,  and  that  it  was  to  end,  not  in 
mortal  combat,  but  in  the  awakening  from  a  bad  dream 
with  a  noble  and  fraternal  astonishment.  They  have 
not  permitted  this  to  be  so ;  and  it  is  their  deception,  we 
may  rest  assured,  that  the  future  will  have  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  pardoning. 

Now,  what  are  we  going  to  do?  Must  we  go  on  hat- 
ing to  the  end  of  our  days  ?  Hatred  is  the  heaviest  load 
that  man  can  bear  on  this  earth,  and  we  should  be  bowed 
down  by  the  burden.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  do  not 
wish  to  be  again  the  victims  of  trust  and  love.  Here 
once  more  our  soldiers,  in  their  clear-eyed  simplicity  and 
nearness  to  truth,  anticipate  the  future  and  teach  us  what 
is  best  to  do  and  not  to  do.  As  we  have  seen,  they  do 
not  hate  the  individual,  but  they  do  not  trust  him.  They 
do  not  see  the  human  being  in  him  until  he  is  unarmed. 
They  know  from  sad  experience  that  as  long  as  he  has 
weapons  he  does  not  resist  the  mad  impulse  to  injure,  to 
betray,  to  kill,  and  that  he  becomes  good  only  when  he  is 
powerless. 

Is  ho  thus  by  nature,  or  has  he  been  made  thus  by  those 


MAURICE   MAETERLINCK  83 

who  lead  him?  Have  the  chiefs  carried  away  the  whole 
nation,  or  has  the  whole  nation  driven  its  chiefs?  Have 
the  leaders  made  the  people  like  themselves,  or  have  the 
people  chosen  the  leaders  and  supported  them  only  be- 
cause they  resembled  themselves  ?  Did  the  disease  come 
from  below  or  from  above,  or  was  it  everywhere?  This 
is  the  great  obscure  point  of  the  awful  adventure.  It  is 
not  easy  to  explain,  and  it  is  still  less  easy  to  find  an 
excuse. 

If  they  prove  that  they  have  been  deceived  and  cor- 
rupted by  their  masters,  they  are  proving  at  the  same 
time  that  they  are  less  intelligent,  less  firmly  grounded  in 
justice,  honor,  and  humanity  —  in  a  word,  less  civilized 

—  than  those  whom  they  pretend  to  have  a  right  to  sub- 
jugate in  the  name  of  a  superiority  which  their  own  demon- 
stration annihilates;  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  do  not 
prove  that  their  errors,  their  perfidies,  and  their  cruelties, 

—  which  can  no  longer  be  denied  —  are  to  be  imputed 
solely  to  their  masters,  these  sins  fall  back  upon  their  own 
heads  with  all  their  pitiless  weight.  I  do  not  know  how 
they  will  escape  the  horns  of  this  dilemma,  nor  what  deci- 
sion will  be  rendered  by  the  future,  which  is  wiser  than 
the  past,  even  as  the  morning,  to  quote  the  old  Slavic 
proverb,  is  wiser  than  the  night.  Meanwhile  let  us  imitate 
the  prudence  of  our  admirable  soldiers,  who  know  better 
than  we  do  what  path  to  follow. 


FRANCE   AND   THE   NEW   COMMANDMENTS 
Paul  Deschanel 

Let  us  hearken  tc  the  voice  of  the  trench  and  the 
tomb ;  what  comes  from  there  is  a  cry  of  love.  Never 
has  the  French  family  been  more  united.  Frenchmen 
were  following  different  roads,  but  they  have  come 
together  at  the  summit.  The  same  devotion,  the  same 
ideal!  The  heroes  facing  death  know  that  before  the 
brief  flame  of  life  is  extinguished  in  them  it  lights  another, 
it  is  immortal.  And  the  enemy  does  not  comprehend 
that  the  thing  which  was  tearing  us  apart  is  what  is  now 
uniting  us  :  the  passion  for  right. 

France  of  St.  Louis,  of  Joan  of  Arc,  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  of  Pascal ;  France  of  Rabelais,  of  Descartes,  of 
Moliere,  of  Voltaire ;  France  of  the  Crusades  and  France 
of  the  Revolution,  you  are  sacred  to  us,  and  your  sons 
are  equal  in  our  hearts  as  they  arc  in  the  face  of  peril. 
Those  who  do  not  discover  the  common  peak  under  the 
same  rays  have  not  looked  long  enough  or  far  enough. 

Yes,  this  sublime  array  of  youth  goes  to  death  as  to  a 
higher  hfe.     Will  that  higher  life  be  the  life  of  France? 

Paul  Eugene  Louis  Deschanel  has  held  several  of  the  highest  offices 
in  the  gift  of  the  French  Nation,  being  several  times  President  and 
Vice  President  of  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies.  He  was  born  in 
1856  and  obtained  his  education  at  the  College  St.-Barbe.  He  has  pub- 
lished many  studies  of  social,  political,  and  economic  conditions  in  his 
native  land. 

The  address  here  given  was  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Academics  of  the  Institute  of  France  in  Paris,  October  26,  1916. 

84 


PAUL   DESCHANEL  85 

The  great  silence  of  these  deserts  full  of  men,  where  the 
cannon  alone  speaks,  will  not  hover  above  them  forever. 
Controversy  is  the  soul  of  progress.  It  is  because  it  has 
been  lacking  in  Germany  that  the  world  is  on  fire. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  phrase,  "conflict  of  the 
classes,"  still  expresses  the  meaning  of  those  who  formerly 
employed  it,  for  since  1914  not  a  single  voice  in  Germany 
has  been  raised  against  the  invasion  of  Belgium  and 
France ;  but  never  have  men  seen  more  clearly  the  grandeur 
of  poverty,  the  obligations  of  wealth,  the  truth  that  souls 
are  not  measured  by  conditions.  There  are  the  things 
that  one  possesses  and  the  things  that  one  values,  and  the 
two  comprise  the  whole  patrimony  of  a  nation.  The 
little  white  crosses  which  mark  our  battlefields  from  the 
Marne  to  the  Seine  and  from  the  sea  to  the  Vosges  are 
terrible  masters  of  equality.  May  they  draw  the  living 
closer  together ! 

The  invasion  of  Belgium,  the  burning  of  Louvain  and 
Rheims,  the  assassination  of  Miss  Cavell,  the  torpedoing 
of  steamships,  the  murder  of  Jacquet,  the  execution  of 
Captain  Fryatt,  the  uprooting  of  the  civil  populations  in 
our  invaded  provinces,  the  rallying  of  all  the  professors 
of  law  to  justify  these  crimes  —  these  things  indicate  a 
nation  overcome  by  vertigo,  like  those  hordes  on  the  Yser 
which  rushed  forward  in  serried  columns,  drunk  with 
ether.  One  imagines  above  their  heads  the  Valkyries  of 
Walhalla  and  the  fierce  divinities  of  their  impenetrable 
forests.  "Let  insolence  germinate,"  says  ^Eschylus  in 
" The  Persians"  ;  "what  grows  up  is  the  fruition  of  crime ; 
one  gathers  a  harvest  of  sorrows." 

And  now  we  hear  repeated  every  day :  "We  must  de- 
stroy German  militarism,  the  Prussian  military  caste." 
Yes,  without  doubt;  and  even  in  Germany  the  abusive 
privileges  of  that  caste  have  caDed  forth  jeers,  protests 


86  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

in  the  press,  in  fiction,  in  the  theater,  in  the  Reichstag. 
But  we  know  how  the  Saverne  affair  ended.  It  is  the 
army  that  has  created  independence ;  it  is  the  army  that 
guarantees  the  power  and  wealth  of  the  empire.  Ger- 
many is  proud  of  it,  loves  it,  has  made  a  cult  of  it.  Her 
"intellectuals,"  better  informed  on  that  point  than  the 
stranger  who  judges  others  by  himself,  cry:  "We  resent 
it  that  the  enemies  of  Germany  dare  to  oppose  German 
science  to  what  they  call  Prussian  mihtarism.  The  spirit 
of  the  army  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  nation." 

The  truth  is  that  in  Germany,  as  elsewhere,  national 
sentiment  has  been  strongest ;  it  has  carried  all  before  it, 
rivalries  of  caste,  of  class,  and  of  creed.  To  judge  a  nation 
aright  one  must  look  upon  the  whole  of  it  at  once,  like 
the  aviator  who  hovers  above  the  ocean  and  sees  currents 
which  others  cannot  see. 

If  Frenchmen  ought  to  know  Germany  better,  they 
ought  also  to  make  France  better  known.  "  A  worn-out 
nation!"  said  Bismarck.  " A  degenerate  people ! "  cried 
Wilham  II.  Worn-out,  degenerate,  the  France  of  Pasteur, 
of  Berthelot,  of  Henri  Poincare!  A  worn-out  nation,  a 
degenerate  people,  the  France  of  Renan  and  Taine, 
which  for  forty  years,  in  all  hues  of  thought,  in  poetry, 
philosophy,  history,  drama,  fiction,  criticism,  has  mag- 
netized the  minds  of  the  world!  A  degenerate  nation, 
the  nation  that  has  produced  at  the  same  time  illustrious 
musicians  and  pleiades  of  painters,  sculptors,  architects, 
engravers,  such  as  the  world  had  not  seen  since  the 
Renaissance  I  Worn  out,  the  nation  which,  between  two 
wars,  has  created  the  second  largest  colonial  empire  in  the 
world !  And  tell  me :  in  what  country,  in  what  epoch, 
have  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  mankind  found  finer 
orators  ? 

Our  institutions  were  supposed  to  be  unworthy  to  en- 


PAUL  DESCHANEL  87 

dure,  and  yet  they  resist  the  most  enormous  upheaval  of 
all  the  ages.  The  republic  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  con- 
clude alliances,  and  yet  France  has  never  had  more  allies, 
or  more  powerful  ones. 

And  mark  the  climax!  Yes,  even  after  Marathon, 
Salamis,  and  Platsea,  even  after  Valmy,  Jemappes,  and 
Fleurus,  France  touches  the  highest  peak;  for  Athenian 
civilization  was  founded  on  slavery,  and  the  armies  of 
the  Revolution  were  restricted  armies,  while  to-day  it  is 
all  France  that  is  fighting  —  for  all  men !  Through  her 
we  are  living  the  greatest  life  that  men  have  ever  lived, 
for  what  is  the  life  of  humanity  if  not  an  increase  of 
justice? 


THE   DAY  OF  THE  DEAD 

Maurice  Maeterlinck 

Our  memories  are  peopled  by  a  multitude  of  heroes, 
stricken  in  the  flower  of  youth,  and  far  different  from  that 
procession  of  yore,  pale  and  worn  out,  which  counted 
almost  solely  the  aged  and  sickly,  who  were  already 
scarcely  alive  when  they  left  this  earth.  To-day  in  all 
our  houses,  in  town,  in  country,  in  palace,  and  in  cottage, 
a  young  man  dead  lives  and  rules  in  all  the  beauty  of  his 
strength.  He  fills  the  poorest,  darkest  dwelling  with 
glory,  such  as  it  had  never  dreamed  of.  It  is  terrible 
that  we  should  have  this  experience,  the  most  pitiless 
mankind  has  known,  but,  now  that  the  ordeal  is  nearly 
over,  we  can  think  of  the  perhaps  unexpected  fruits  which 
we  shall  reap. 

One  will  soon  see  the  breach  widening  and  destinies 
diverging  between  those  nations  which  have  acquired  all 
these  dead  and  all  this  glory,  and  those  who  have  been 
deprived  of  them  and  it.  And  one  will  be  astonished  to 
find  that  those  which  have  lost  most  are  those  which  will 
have  kept  their  wealth,  and  their  men.  There  are  losses 
which  are  priceless  gain,  and  there  are  gains  in  which 
one's  future  is  lost.  There  are  dqad  whom  the  living 
cannot  replace  and  whose  memory  does  things  which  no 
living  bodies  can  do,  and  we  are  each  of  us  now  agents 
of  some  one  greater,  nobler,  braver,  wiser,  and  more  alive 

This  ia  an  extract  from  Maeterlinck's  beautiful  tribute  to  Belgium's 
dead.     It  first  appeared  in  the  Parvi  Figaro  on  All  Souls'  Day,  1916. 


JP^SpiH 

^^^^^^^HT^^^ 

^^ '  •  ^^Ik  •^'••^^^B 

^^^^^^^Hb  # 

rw7                         ''^^.        l^H 

^fSH 

"'^     1 

^''\.       '^'^i^^K       'i^H 

k3 

Maurice  Maeterlinck 


MAURICE   MAETERLINCK  89 

than  ourselves.     He  will  be,  with  all  his  comrades,  our 
judge. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  dead  weigh  the  souls  of  the  living 
and  that  our  fate  depends  upon  their  verdict,  he  will  be 
our  guide  and  our  champion.  For  this  is  the  first  time 
since  history  revealed  to  us  her  catastrophes  that  man  has 
felt  round  about  him  and  within  him  the  influence  of  such 
a  multitude  of  heroic  dead. 


ENGLAND'S  ANSWER 
David  Lloyd  George 

I  APPEAR  before  the  House  of  Commons  to-day  with  the 
most  terrible  responsibility  that  can  fall  upon  the  shoulders 
of  any  living  man.  As  the  chief  Minister  of  the  Crown, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  most  stupendous  war  in  which 
this  country  ever  has  been  engaged,  a  war  upon  which 
its  destinies  depend,  the  responsibilities  which  rest  upon 
the  government  have  been  accentuated  by  the  declaration 
of  the  German  Chancellor,  and  I  propose  to  deal  with 
that  at  once. 

The  statement  made  by  him  in  the  German  Reichstag 
has  been  followed  by  a  note  presented  to  us  by  the  United 
States  Minister,  without  any  note  or  comment.  The 
answer  which  is  given  by  the  government  will  be  given 
in  full  accord  with  all  our  various  Allies.  Already  there 
has  been  an  interchange  of  views,  not  upon  the  note  itself, 
because  it  has  only  recently  arrived,  but  upon  the  spirit 
which  impelled  the  note.  The  note  is  only  a  paraphrase 
of  the  speech,  so  that  the  subject  matter  of  the  note  itself 
has  been  discussed  informally  with  the  Allies,  and  I  am 

The  reply  of  David  Lloyd  George  to  the  German  Chancellor's  peace 
proposals  has  been  called  "one  of  the  most  important  speeches  ever 
made  in  the  history  of  the  world."  It  was  sent  through  the  United 
States  Government  to  the  Allied  Powers. 

Mr.  George  appeared  before  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  after- 
noon of  December  19,  1916,  and  delivered  this  historic  address.  It  was 
his  first  speech  as  the  head  of  the  British  Government.  He  had  accepted 
the  Premiership  only  a  few  days  before. 

90 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  91 

glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  we  arrived  separately  at  iden- 
tical conclusions. 

I  am  very  glad  that  the  first  answer  was  given  to  the 
German  Chancellor  by  France  and  by  Russia.  They  have 
unquestionably  the  right  to  give  the  first  answer.  The 
enemy  is  still  on  their  soil  and  their  sacrifices  have  been 
greater.  The  answer  they  have  given  has  already  ap- 
peared in  all  the  papers,  and  I  stand  here  to-day  on  behalf 
of  the  government  to  give  a  clear  and  definite  support  to 
the  statement  they  have  already  made.  And  here  let  me 
say  that  any  man  or  set  of  men  who  wantonly  and  with- 
out sufficient  cause  prolongs  a  terrible  conflict  like  this 
has  on  his  soul  a  crime  that  oceans  could  not  cleanse ;  on 
the  other  hand,  a  man  or  set  of  men,  who  from  a  sense  of 
war-weariness  abandoned  the  struggle  without  achieving 
the  high  purpose  for  which  we  entered  upon  it,  would  be 
guilty  of  the  costliest  poltroonery  ever  perpetrated  by 
any  statesman. 

I  should  hke  to  quote  the  well-known  words  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  under  similar  conditions  : 

"We  accepted  the  war  for  an  object,  a  worthy  object. 
The  war  will  end  when  that  object  is  attained.  Under 
God  I  hope  it  will  never  end  until  that  time." 

Are  we  to  achieve  that  object  by  accepting  the  invita- 
tions of  the  German  Chancellor?  That  is  the  only  ques- 
tion we  have  to  put  to  ourselves. 

There  has  been  some  talk  about  the  proposals  of  peace. 
What  are  those  proposals?  There  are  none.  To  enter 
into  a  conference,  on  the  invitation  of  Germany,  pro- 
claiming herself  victorious,  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
proposals  she  intends  to  make,  is  putting  our  heads  into 
a  noose  with  the  rope  end  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans. 

This  country  is  not  altogether  without  experience  in 
these  matters.     This  is  not  the  first  time  we  have  fought 


92  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

a  great  military  despotism  overshadowing  Europe,  and  it 
won't  be  the  first  time  we  have  helped  to  overthrow  a 
military  despotism. 

We  have  an  uncomfortable  historical  memory  of  these 
things,  and  can  recall  one  of  the  greatest  of  these  despots, 
whose  favorite  device  was  to  appear  in  the  garb  of  an 
angel  of  peace,  either  when  he  wished  time  to  assimilate 
his  conquests  or  to  reorganize  his  forces  for  fresh  con- 
quests ;  or,  secondly,  when  his  subjects  showed  symptoms 
of  fatigue  and  war- weariness,  an  appeal  was  always  made 
in  the  name  of  humanity.  He  demanded  an  end  to  the 
bloodshed  at  which  he  professed  himself  horrified,  although 
he  himseK  was  mainly  responsible. 

Our  ancestors  were  taken  in  once,  and  bitterly  they 
and  Europe  rue  it.  The  time  was  devoted  to  reorganiz- 
ing his  forces  for  a  deadlier  attack  than  ever  upon  the 
liberties  of  Europe.  Examples  of  this  kind  cause  us  to 
regard  this  note  with  a  considerable  measure  of  reminis- 
cent disquietude. 

We  feel  we  ought  to  know  before  we  give  favorable 
consideration  to  such  an  invitation,  whether  Germany  is 
prepared  to  accede  to  the  only  terms  on  which  it  is  pos- 
sible for  peace  to  be  obtained  and  maintamed  in  Europe. 

What  are  these  terms?  They  have  been  repeatedly 
stated  by  all  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  Allies.  All  I 
can  do  is  to  quote  what  the  leader  of  the  House,  Mr. 
Bonar  Law,  said  last  week  when  he  made  practically  the 
same  statement  of  terms  as  those  put  forward  by  Mr. 
Asquith  —  "restitution,  reparation,  guarantees  against 
repetition."  So  that  there  shall  be  no  mistakes  (and  it  is 
important  that  there  should  be  no  mistake  in  a  matter  of 
the  life  and  death  of  millions),  let  me  say  complete  resti- 
tution, full  reparation,  and  effectual  guarantees. 

Did  the  German  Chancellor  use  a  single  phrase   that 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  93 

would  indicate  that  he  was  prepared  to  accept  such  terms  ? 
Was  there  a  hint  of  restitution?  Was  there  any  sugges- 
tion of  reparation?  Was  there  any  indication  of  any 
security  for  the  future,  that  this  outrage  on  civihzation 
would  not  again  be  perpetrated  at  the  first  profitable 
opportunity  ? 

The  very  substance  and  style  of  the  speech  constituted 
a  denial  of  peace  on  the  only  terms  on  which  peace  is 
possible.  He  is  not  even  conscious  now  that  Germany 
has  committed  an  offense  against  the  rights  of  free  nations. 
Listen  to  this  quotation:  "Not  for  an  instant  had  they 
(the  Central  Powers)  swerved  from  the  conviction  that  a 
respe'ct  for  the  rights  of  free  nations  is  not  in  any  degree  in- 
compatible with  their  own  rights  and  legitimate  interests." 
When  did  they  discover  that?  Where  was  the  respect 
for  the  rights  of  other  nations  in  Belgium? 

That,  it  is  said,  was  for  self-defense.  Menaced,  I  sup- 
pose, by  the  overwhelming  army  of  Belgium,  the  Germans 
were  intimidated  into  invading  Belgium,  burning  Belgian 
cities  and  villages,  massacring  thousands  of  inhabitants, 
old  and  young,  carrying  others  into  slavery  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  note  was  being  written  about  the 
"unswerving  conviction  of  the  respect  for  the  rights  of 
other  nations." 

What  guarantee  is  there  that  these  terrors  will  not  be 
repeated  in  the  future  ?  That  if  we  enter  into  a  treaty  of 
peace,  we  shall  put  an  end  to  Prussian  militarism?  If 
there  is  to  be  no  reckoning  for  these  atrocities  by  land  and 
sea,  are  we  to  grasp  the  hand  which  perpetrated  them 
without  any  reparation  being  made?  We  have  to  exact 
damages.  We  have  begun ;  already  it  has  cost  us  much. 
We  must  exact  it  now,  so  as  not  to  leave  such  a  grim  in- 
heritance for  our  children.  Much  as  we  all  long  for  peace, 
deeply  as  we  are  horrified  at  the  war,  their  note  and 


94  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

speech  give  small  encouragement  to  hope  for  an  honor- 
able and  lasting  peace.  What  hope  is  given  in  that 
speech  ?  The  whole  root  and  cause  of  this  bitterness  — 
the  arrogant  spirit  of  the  Prussian  military  caste  —  will 
it  not  be  as  dominant  as  ever  if  we  patch  up  a  peace  now  ? 
The  very  speech  resounds  with  the  boast  of  the  Prussian 
military  triumph;  the  very  appeal  for  peace  was  de- 
livered ostentatiously  from  the  triumphal  chariot  of 
Prussian  militarism. 

We  must  keep  a  steadfast  eye  on  the  purpose  for  which 
we  entered  the  war.  Otherwise  the  great  sacrifices  we 
are  making  will  be  all  in  vain.  The  German  note  states 
that  for  the  defense  of  their  existence  and  for  the  freedom 
of  national  development  the  Central  Powers  were  con- 
strained to  take  up  arms.  Such  phrases  cannot  but 
deceive  those  who  listen  to  them.  They  are  intended  to 
deceive  the  German  nation  into  supporting  the  designs 
of  the  Prussian  military  caste. 

Who  ever  wished  to  put  an  end  to  their  national  exist- 
ence or  to  the  freedom  of  their  national  development? 
We  welcomed  their  development  so  long  as  it  was  on 
behalf  of  peace.  The  greater  their  development  in  that 
direction,  the  greater  would  humanity  be  enriched  by 
that  development. 

That  was  not  our  design  and  it  is  not  our  purpose  now. 
The  Allies  entered  into  this  war  to  defend  Europe  against 
the  aggression  of  Prussian  military  domination,  and  they 
must  insist  that  the  end  is  a  most  complete  and  effective 
guarantee  against  the  possibility  of  that  caste  ever  again 
disturbing  the  peace  of  Europe. 

Prussia,  since  she  got  into  the  hands  of  that  caste,  has 
been  a  bad  neighbor  —  arrogant,  threatening,  bullying, 
shifting  boundaries  at  her  will,  taking  one  fair  field  after 
another  from  weaker  neighbors  and  adding  them  to  her 


DAVID   LLOYD  GEORGE  95 

own  dominions,  ostentatiously  piling  up  weapons  of 
offense,  ready  on  a  moment's  notice  to  be  used.  She  has 
always  been  an  unpleasant,  disturbing  neighbor  to  us. 
She  got  thoroughly  on  the  nerves  of  Europe,  and  there 
was  no  peace  near  where  she  dwelt.  It  is  difficult  for 
those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  live  thousands  of 
miles  away,  to  understand  what  it  has  meant  to  those 
who  hved  near.  Even  here,  with  the  protection  of  the 
broad  seas  between  us,  we  know  what  a  disturbing  factor 
the  Prussians  were  with  their  constant  naval  menace. 
But  even  we  can  hardly  reahze  what  it  has  meant  to 
France  and  Russia.  Several  times  there  were  threats. 
There  were  two  of  them  within  the  lifetime  of  this  genera- 
tion which  presented  an  alternative  of  war  or  humiliation. 

There  were  many  of  us  who  had  hoped  that  internal 
influences  in  Germany  would  have  been  strong  enough  to 
check  and  ultimately  to  eliminate  this  hectoring.  All 
our  hopes  proved  illusory,  and  now  that  this  great  war 
has  been  forced  by  the  Prussian  military  leaders  upon 
France,  Russia,  Italy,  and  ourselves,  it  would  be  a  cruel 
folly  not  to  see  to  it  that  this  swashbuckhng  through  the 
streets  of  Europe  to  the  disturbance  of  all  harmless  and 
peaceful  citizens  shall  be  dealt  with  now  as  an  offense 
against  the  law  of  nations. 

The  mere  word  that  led  Belgium  to  her  own  destruction 
will  not  satisfy  Europe  any  more.  We  all  believed  it; 
we  all  trusted  in  it.  It  gave  way  at  the  first  pressure  of 
temptation,  and  Europe  has  been  plunged  into  this  vortex 
of  blood.  We  will  therefore  wait  until  we  hear  what 
terms  and  guarantees  the  German  Government  offers 
other  than  those,  better  than  those,  surer  than  those, 
which  she  so  lightly  broke.  Meanwhile  we  ought  to  put 
our  trust  in  an  unbroken  army  rather  than  in  a  broken 
faith. 


A   LEAGUE  FOR  PEACE 
WooDROW  Wilson 

The  equality  of  nations  upon  which  peace  must  be 
founded  if  it  is  to  last  must  be  an  equality  of  rights ;  the 
guarantees  exchanged  must  neither  recognize  nor  imply 
a  difference  between  big  nations  and  small,  between  those 
that  are  powerful  and  those  that  are  weak.  Right  must 
be  based  upon  the  common  strength,  not  upon  the  indi- 
vidual strength,  of  the  nations  upon  whose  concert  peace 
will  depend.  Equality  of  territory  or  of  resources  there 
of  course  cannot  be ;  nor  any  other  sort  of  equality  not 
gained  in  the  ordinary  peaceful  and  legitimate  develop- 
ment of  the  peoples  themselves.  But  no  one  asks  or 
expects  anything  more  than  an  equality  of  rights.  Man- 
kind is  looking  now  for  freedom  of  life,  not  for  equipoises 
of  power. 

And  there  is  a  deeper  thing  involved  than  even  equality 
of  right  among  organized  nations.  No  peace  can  last,  or 
ought  to  last,  which  does  not  recognize  and  accept  the 
principle  that  governments  derive  all  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  that  no  right  any- 
where exists  to  hand  peoples  about  from  sovereignty  to 
sovereignty  as  if  they  were  property.  I  take  it  for 
granted,  for  instance,  if  I  may  venture  upon  a  single 

On  January  22,  1917,  the  President  of  the  United  States  delivered 
before  the  Senate  a  speech  which  his  admirers  claim  to  be  the  "most 
important  pronouncement  of  an  American  president  since  the  Monroe 
Doctrine." 

96 


WOODROW  WILSON  97 

example,  that  statesmen  everywhere  are  agreed  that 
there  should  be  a  united,  independent,  and  autonomous 
Poland ;  and  that  henceforth  inviolable  security  of  life, 
of  worship,  and  of  industrial  and  social  development 
should  be  guaranteed  to  all  peoples  who  have  lived  hither- 
to under  the  power  of  governments  devoted  to  a  faith 
and  purpose  hostile  to  their  own, 

I  speak  of  this,  not  because  of  any  desire  to  exalt  an 
abstract  political  principle  which  has  always  been  held 
very  dear  by  those  who  have  sought  to  build  up  liberty 
in  America,  but  for  the  same  reason  that  I  have  spoken 
of  the  other  conditions  of  peace  which  seem  to  me 
clearly  indispensable,  —  because  I  wish  frankly  to  un- 
cover realities.  Any  peace  which  does  not  recognize  and 
accept  this  principle  will  inevitably  be  upset.  It  will  not 
rest  upon  the  affections  or  the  convictions  of  mankind. 
The  ferment  of  spirit  of  whole  populations  will  fight  subtly 
and  constantly  against  it,  and  all  the  world  will  sym- 
pathize. The  world  can  be  at  peace  only  if  its  life  is 
stable,  and  there  can  be  no  stability  where  the  will  is  in 
rebellion,  where  there  is  not  tranquillity  of  spirit  and  a 
sense  of  justice,  of  freedom,  and  of  right. 

So  far  as  practicable,  moreover,  every  great  people 
now  strugghng  towards  a  full  development  of  its  re- 
sources and  of  its  powers  should  be  assured  a  direct 
outlet  to  the  great  highways  of  the  sea.  Where  this 
cannot  be  done  by  the  cession  of  territory,  it  can  no 
doubt  be  done  by  the  neutralization  of  direct  rights  of 
way  under  the  general  guarantee  which  will  assure  the 
peace  itself.  With  a  right  comity  of  arrangement  no 
nation  need  be  shut  away  from  free  access  to  the  open 
paths  of  the  world's  commerce. 

And  the  paths  of  the  sea  must  alike  in  law  and  in  fact 
be  free.     The  freedom  of  the  seas  is  the  sine  qua  non  of 


98  THE   FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

peace,  equality,  and  cooperation.  No  doubt  a  some- 
what radical  reconsideration  of  many  of  the  rules  of 
international  practice  hitherto  thought  to  be  established 
may  be  necessary  in  order  to  make  the  seas  indeed  free 
and  common  in  practically  all  circumstances  for  the  use 
of  manldnd,  but  the  motive  for  such  changes  is  convinc- 
ing and  compelling.  There  can  be  no  trust  or  intimacy 
between  the  peoples  of  the  world  without  them.  The 
free,  constant,  unthreatened  intercourse  of  nations  is 
an  essential  part  of  the  process  of  peace  and  of  develop- 
ment. It  need  not  be  difficult  either  to  define  or  to  secure 
the  freedom  of  the  seas  if  the  governments  of  the  world 
sincerely  desire  to  come  to  an  agreement  concerning  it. 

It  is  a  problem  closely  connected  with  the  limitation  of 
naval  armaments  and  the  cooperation  of  the  navies  of 
the  world  in  keeping  the  seas  at  once  free  and  safe.  And 
the  question  of  limiting  naval  armaments  opens  the 
wider  and  perhaps  more  difficult  question  of  the  limitation 
of  armies,  and  of  all  programs  of  military  preparation. 
Difficult  and  delicate  as  these  questions  are,  they  must 
be  faced  with  the  utmost  candor  and  decided  in  a  spirit 
of  real  accommodation,  if  peace  is  to  come  with  healing 
in  its  wings,  and  come  to  stay.  Peace  cannot  be  had 
without  concession  and  sacrifice.  There  can  be  no  sense 
of  safety  and  equality  among  the  nations  if  great  prepon- 
derating armaments  are  henceforth  to  continue  here  and 
there  to  be  built  up  and  maintained.  The  statesmen  of 
the  world  must  plan  for  peace,  and  nations  must  adjust 
and  accommodate  their  policy  to  it  as  they  have  planned 
for  war  and  made  ready  for  pitiless  contest  and  rivalry. 
The  question  of  armaments,  whether  on  land  or  sea,  is 
the  most  immediately  and  intensely  practical  question 
connected  with  the  future  fortunes  of  nations  and  of 
mankind. 


WOODROW  WILSON  99 

I  have  spoken  upon  these  great  matters  without  reserve 
and  with  the  utmost  explicitness  because  it  has  seemed  to 
me  to  be  necessary  if  the  world's  yearning  desire  for  peace 
was  anywhere  to  find  free  voice  and  utterance.  Perhaps 
I  am  the  only  person  in  high  authority  amongst  all  the 
peoples  of  the  world  who  is  at  liberty  to  speak  and  hold 
nothing  back.  I  am  speaking  as  an  individual,  and  yet 
I  am  speaking  also,  of  course,  as  the  responsible  head  of 
a  great  Government,  and  I  feel  confident  that  I  have  said 
what  the  people  of  the  United  States  would  wish  me  to 
say.  May  I  not  add  that  I  hope  and  believe  that  I  am 
in  effect  speaking  for  liberals  and  friends  of  humanity 
in  every  nation  and  of  every  program  of  liberty?  I 
would  fain  believe  that  I  am  speaking  for  the  silent  mass 
of  mankind  everyivhere  who  have  as  yet  had  no  place  or 
opportunity  to  speak  their  real  hearts  out  concerning 
the  death  and  ruin  which  they  see  has  come  already  upon 
the  persons  and  the  homes  they  hold  most  dear. 

And  in  holding  out  the  expectation  that  the  people 
and  Government  of  the  United  States  will  join  the  other 
civilizations  of  the  world  in  guaranteeing  the  perma- 
nence of  peace  upon  such  terms  as  I  have  named,  I  speak 
with  the  greater  boldness  and  confidence  because  it  is 
clear  to  every  man  who  can  think  that  there  is  in  this 
promise  no  breach  in  either  our  traditions  or  our  policy 
as  a  nation,  but  a  fulfilment,  rather,  of  all  that  we  have 
professed  or  striven  for. 

I  am  proposing,  as  it  were,  that  the  nations  should 
with  one  accord  adopt  the  doctrine  of  President  Monroe 
as  the  doctrine  of  the  world ;  that  no  nation  should  seek 
to  extend  its  polity  over  any  other  nation  or  people,  but 
that  every  people  should  be  left  free  to  determine  its  own 
poHty,  its  own  way  of  development,  unhindered,  unthreat- 
ened,  unafraid,  the  Kttle  along  with  the  great  and  powerful. 


100  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

I  am  proposing  that  all  nations  henceforth  avoid  en- 
tangling alliances  which  would  draw  them  into  competi- 
tions of  power,  catch  them  in  a  net  of  intrigue  and  selfish 
rivalry,  and  disturb  their  own  affairs  with  influences 
intruded  from  without.  There  is  no  entanghng  alliance 
in  a  concert  of  power.  When  all  unite  to  act  in  the  same 
sense  and  with  the  same  purpose,  all  act  in  the  common 
interest  and  are  free  to  live  their  own  lives  under  a  com- 
mon protection. 

I  am  proposing  government  by  the  consent  of  the 
governed  ;  that  freedom  of  the  seas  which  in  international 
conference  after  conference  representatives  of  the  United 
States  have  urged  with  the  eloquence  of  those  who  are 
the  convinced  disciples  of  liberty ;  and  that  moderation 
of  armaments  which  makes  of  armies  and  navies  a  power 
for  order  merely,  not  an  instrument  of  aggression  or  of 
selfish  violence. 

These  are  American  principles,  American  policies. 
We  could  stand  for  no  others.  And  they  are  also  the 
principles  and  policies  of  forward  looking  men  and  women 
everywhere,  of  every  modern  nation,  of  every  enlightened 
community.  They  are  the  principles  of  mankind  and 
must  prevail. 


FRANCE   UNITED   IN   THE   CAUSE   OF   RIGHT 
Paul  Deschanel 

After  thirty-one  months  of  the  most  terrible  of  wars, 
France  is  as  united  as  she  was  on  the  very  first  day  of 
hostihties.  The  crime  committed  by  Germany  brought 
about  this  miracle.  All  Frenchmen  to-day  have  but 
one  thought,  one  ardent  desire,  and  that  is  to  drive  out 
the  enemy.  A  German  peace  would  be  but  a  truce  for 
more  wars  in  the  near  future.  If  we  cease  the  struggle 
to-day,  our  sons  will  have  to  go  on  with  it. 

A  few  weeks  since,  a  deputy  from  the  invaded  regions, 
on  coming  back  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Chamber  of  Dep- 
uties after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  a  half,  said : 
"They  are  suffering  cruelly  there,  both  in  body  and  soul; 
they  are  enduring  the  greatest  humiliations;  they  have 
insufficient  food ;  yet,  full  of  determination,  they  cry  to 
you  saying:  'Whatever  you  do,  make  no  premature 
peace,  no  patched-up,  no  German  peace.'"  We  who 
are  free,  and  far  from  the  struggle,  shall  we  be  less  de- 
termined, less  patient  and  enduring  than  they  are? 
The  noble  cry  of  these  our  oppressed  brothers  is  heard 
throughout  France,  even  to  her  remotest  hamlet ;  the 
whole  country,  from  the  Alps  to  the  Pyrenees,  from  the 

In  February  of  1917,  a  great  meeting  of  representative  French 
Associations  was  held  at  the  Sorbonne.  M.  Deschanel  was  in  the 
chair,  supported  by  President  Poincare,  the  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  The  chairman  addressed  the  meet- 
ing, affirming  "the  indissoluble  union  of  all  Frenchmen  in  opposing 
German  aggression." 

101 


102  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

Ocean  to  the  Front,  has  risen  up  in  wrath,  in  pride, 
and  hope ! 

We  are  approaching  the  most  decisive  moment  of  all 
times.  This  war  is  the  greatest  of  all  wars,  not  only  by 
the  length  of  the  battle-line,  the  power  of  inventions,  the 
number  of  men  and  the  peoples  engaged  in  it  —  fourteen 
nations,  twenty  million  men,  are  wrestling,  amidst  untold 
horrors  —  but  because  all  the  moral  inheritance  of  man- 
kind is  at  stake.  It  is  no  longer  a  duel  between  two 
countries,  or  two  civilizations,  Greece  and  Persia,  Rome 
and  Carthage ;  it  is  a  struggle  between  the  just  and  the 
unjust,  between  honor  and  perjury,  between  right  and 
crime.     The  morality  of  the  universe  itself  is  at  stake. 

Germany  had  guaranteed  the  independence  and  neu- 
trality of  Belgium ;  she  called  upon  this  country  to  allow 
her  a  passage  through  her  land  in  order  to  attack  France ; 
Belgium  refused,  and  Germany  ruthlessly  fell  upon  her 
and  slew  her.  Germany  has,  before  God,  before  man, 
and  before  the  ages  tb  come,  stained  herself  forever  with 
the  blood  of  innocent  Belgium.  If  such  a  crime  should 
triumph,  the  human  race  would  be  degraded.  Treaties 
would  no  longer  have  any  value,  nations  no  security  — 
you  see  that  neutral  countries  are  already  endangered. 
All  moral  effort  since  the  human  race  has  existed  would 
be  annihilated,  and  man  be  on  a  level  with  the  beasts ; 
the  strongest  paw,  the  sharpest  claw,  would  rule  the 
world.  The  very  thought  of  such  a  terrible  state  of 
existence  is  maddening.  Any  one  who  has  a  heart  would 
brave  the  worst  evils  rather  than  sink  to  such  degrada- 
tion. 

Germany  would  like  to  assume  the  domination  of  the 
world,  but  by  what  right?  By  right  of  her  own  supe- 
riority, so  she  says.  And  wherein  lies  this  vast  superior- 
ity?    Is  it  in  her  methods  of  observation  which  have 


PAUL  DESCHANEL  103 

failed?  She  was  mistaken  in  her  judgment  of  France, 
Belgium,  Britain,  Russia,  Italy,  and  Japan.  She  under- 
stands things,  but  not  men,  nor  their  souls,  and  yet  she 
wishes  to  rule  and  lead  them !  The  Germans  say :  "Our 
enemies  want  to  annihilate  us."  These  are  but  idle 
words !  A  nation  of  seventy  million  inhabitants  cannot  be 
annihilated ;  and  I  suppose  that  when  people  talk  about 
"destroying  Prussian  militarism,"  they  don't  imagine 
they  can  change  the  Prussian  character.  Prussia  is  a 
military  State  and  can  never  be  anything  else.  If  she 
had  not  been  such,  she  would  never  have  existed.  It 
would  be  necessary,  too,  to  overthrow  the  German  uni- 
versity, school,  and  pulpit,  for  her  army  is  only  the  off- 
spring of  these. 

No !  we  are  not  pursuing  some  mere  fancy  or  dream ; 
we  do  not  wish  to  prevent  any  one  from  living,  but  what 
we  do  want  is  that  nations  may  breathe  freely  and  work 
in  peace,  in  independence  and  dignity. 


AMERICA  BREAKS  WITH   GERMANY 
WooDRow  Wilson 

I  CANNOT  bring  myself  to  believe  that  the  Imperial 
German  Government  will  indeed  pay  no  regard  to  the 
ancient  friendship  between  their  people  and  our  own,  or 
to  the  solemn  obligations  which  have  been  exchanged  be- 
tween them,  and  will  destroy  American  ships  and  take  the 
lives  of  American  citizens  in  the  wilful  prosecution  of 
the  ruthless  naval  program  they  have  announced  their 
intention  to  adopt.  Only  actual  overt  acts  on  their  part 
can  make  me  believe  it  even  now. 

If  this  inveterate  confidence  on  my  part  in  the  sobriety 
and  prudent  foresight  of  their  purpose  should  unhappily 
prove  unfounded ;  if  American  ships  and  American  lives 
should  in  fact  be  sacrificed  by  their  naval  commanders 
in  heedless  contravention  of  the  just  and  reasonable  under- 
standings of  international  law  and  the  obvious  dictates  of 
humanity,  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  coming  again  before 
the  Congress  to  ask  that  authority  be  given  me  to  use 

On  February  3,  1917,  at  two  o'clock,  the  United  States,  throuKli  its 
President,  notified  the  world  that  it  had  broken  off  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  Imperial  German  Government.  As  President  Wilson  entered 
the  House,  the  whole  throng  rose  and  cheered  him.  "Grim  faced  and 
solemn"  he  was  escorted  to  his  place  and  began  to  read  the  document 
which  "was  heard  round  the  world." 

Not  a  sound  came  from  floor  or  galleries  but  the  clear,  calm  tones 
of  the  President,  speaking  slowly  and  distinctly.  The  great  assemblage 
of  legislators  and  notables  listened  with  the  closest  attention  to  words 
which  recorded  "one  of  the  somber  moments  of  American  and  world 
history." 

104 


WOODROW  WILSON  105 

any  means  that  may  be  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
our  seamen  and  our  people  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
peaceful  and  legitimate  errands  on  the  high  seas.  I  can 
do  nothing  less.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  all  neutral 
governments  will  take  the  same  course. 

We  do  not  desire  any  hostile  conflict  with  the  Imperial 
German  Government.  We  are  the  sincere  friends  of  the 
German  people  and  earnestly  desire  to  remain  at  peace 
with  the  government  which  speaks  for  them.  We  shall 
not  believe  that  they  are  hostile  to  us  unless  and  until  we 
are  obliged  to  believe  it;  and  we  purpose  nothing  more 
than  the  reasonable  defense  of  the  undoubted  rights  of 
our  people. 

We  wish  to  serve  no  selfish  ends.  We  seek  merely  to 
stand  true  alike  in  thought  and  in  action  to  the  imme- 
morial principles  of  our  people  which  I  sought  to  ex- 
press in  my  address  to  the  Senate  only  two  weeks  ago 
—  seek  merely  to  vindicate  our  right  to  liberty  and  jus- 
tice and  an  unmolested  life. 

These  are  the  bases  of  peace,  not  war.  God  grant 
that  we  may  not  be  challenged  to  defend  them  by  acts 
of  wilful  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  government  of 
Germany. 


DEMOCRACY   AND   THE  WAR 
Albert  Thomas 

When  celebrating  the  birthday  anniversary  of  the 
first  president  of  the  United  States,  the  Government  of 
this  RepubUc  not  only  performs  a  duty  of  international 
courtesy,  but  it  conveys  the  homage  of  grateful  France 
to  one  of  her  noblest  citizens.  Upon  the  threshold  of 
the  history  of  our  two  Democracies  stands  a  warlike 
hero  whose  image  is  almost  as  familiar  to  French  school- 
boys as  it  is  to  American  children ;  he  is  the  stubborn 
fighter  of  Valley  Forge,  the  victor  at  Yorktown  :  General 
Washington,  who  was  appointed  by  Congress  *'to  com- 
mand all  the  Continental  forces,  raised,  or  to  be  raised, 
for  the  defense  of  American  liberty." 

It  is  the  nobleness  of  wars  inspired  by  a  democratic 
ideal,  which  arouses  beyond  the  seas  the  enthusiasm  of 
free  races.  They  are  wars  of  sentiment,  but  they  are  also 
wars  of  determination  and  will. 

When  material  interests  or  dynastic  ambitions  are  at 
stake,  governments  wearied  of  a  conflict  may  be  led  to 
compromise  matters,  but  nations  Uke  ours  never  grow 
weary  of  defending  their  liberty. 

Washington's  ideal  was  that  the  long  war  he  had  waged 
should  assure  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  United  States 

At  the  ceremony  held  in  Paris  on  the  anniversary  of  George  Wash- 
ington's birthday,  February  22,  1917,  M.  Albert  Thomas,  Minister  of 
Munitions,  called  to  remembrance  the  ideals  by  which  the  sister  democ- 
racies were  actuated,  and  paid  homage  in  eloquent  terms  to  the  memory 
of  our  first  President,  "upon  whom,  in  1793,  the  Legislative  Assembly 
had  bestowed  the  title  of  French  Citizen." 

106 


ALBERT   THOMAS  107 

forever,  and  that  the  Union  should  serve  as  a  model  and 
example  to  less  privileged  countries,  still  slaves  to  tradi- 
tion. "It  would  be  worthy  of  a  free  and  enUghtened 
nation,  soon  to  become  a  great  one,  to  give  humanity  the 
magnanimous  and  novel  example  of  a  race  always  guided 
by  the  high  principles  of  justice  and  generosity." 

We  know  these  same  motives  inspire  President  Wilson, 
for  in  his  address  to  the  Senate  he  said:  "America  has 
entertained  from  her  birth  the  lofty  and  honorable  expec- 
tation of  being  able  to  point  out  to  Humanity,  by  her 
manner  of  being  and  doing,  the  path  that  leads  to  Liberty." 

But  in  order  to  remain  true  to  this  ideal  of  liberty  and 
peace,  America  has  gradually  been  compelled  to  abandon 
the  isolation  recommended  by  Washington  at  a  time  when 
the  history  of  the  world  was  little  more  than  the  history 
of  Europe. 

President  Wilson  now  desires  the  Monroe  Doctrine  to 
be  apphed  to  the  whole  universe,  saying : 

"I  suggest  that  the  different  nations  should  agree  to 
adopt  the  Monroe  Doctrine  as  the  doctrine  of  the  world ; 
that  no  nation  should  seek  to  impose  its  policy  upon  any 
other  country,  but  that  each  race  should  be  free  to  deter- 
mine its  own  particular  policy,  to  choose  its  own  way  of 
development,  without  anything  to  hinder,  molest,  or  dis- 
may it,  in  such  a  manner  that  we  may  see  the  small 
country  prospering  by  the  side  of  the  great  and  powerful 
one." 

These  ideas,  though  familiar  to  Frenchmen,  seem 
to-day  both  daring  and  ancient.  They  are  ancient,  for 
in  the  hope  of  bringing  back  human  society  to  a  state  of 
natural  kindness  and  perpetual  peace,  we  cannot  fail  to 
find  again  the  spirit  of  our  revolutionary  ancestors! 
They  are  daring  ideas,  because  the  last  half-century  of 
European  history,  and  these  thirty  months'  war,  have 


108  THE  FORUM  OF  DEMOCRACY 

compelled  us  to  acknowledge  that  the  way  towards  that 
Golden  Age  is  long  and  that  all  the  nations  would  not 
tread  the  same  path  and  keep  step  with  us  !  But,  gentle- 
men, what  a  comfort  it  is  to  our  people  to  feel  that  your 
country  is  also  considering  the  stages  that  have  to  be 
traveled  over  ! 

It  is  not  by  mere  chance  that  the  words  which  most 
clearly  define  the  spirit  of  France  at  war  were  uttered 
by  the  most  illustrious  representatives  of  American 
democracy :  Washington  and  Lincoln. 

Remember  the  exhortation  given  at  the  consecration 
of  Gettysburg  cemetery :  "  Let  us  resolve  that  these  men 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  so  that  the  nation  may,  by 
the  help  of  God,  be  restored  to  liberty,  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth," 

These  striking  words  make  an  echo,  more  than  two 
thousand  years  after,  to  the  funeral  oration  uttered  by 
Pericles  in  honor  of  the  warriors  who  had  died  to  save 
Athens.  They  bear  an  untold  weight  of  meaning  for 
France,  who  is  determined  to  fight  to  the  finish  for  her 
liberty,  for  they  are  a  pledge  of  faith  in  an  undying 
democracy. 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  WAR  MESSAGE 
WooDRow  Wilson 

We  are  now  about  to  accept  the  gauge  of  battle  with 
the  Imperial  German  Government,  this  natural  foe  to 
liberty,  and  shall,  if  necessary,  spend  the  whole  force  of 
the  nation  to  check  and  nullify  its  pretensions  and  its 
power.  We  are  glad,  now  that  we  see  the  facts  with  no 
veil  of  false  pretense  about  them,  to  fight  thus  for  the 
ultimate  peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation  of  its 
peoples,  the  German  peoples  included ;  for  the  rights  of 
nations  great  and  small,  and  the  privilege  of  men  every- 
where to  choose  their  way  of  life  and  of  obedience. 

The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy.  Its 
peace  must  be  planted  upon  the  trusted  foundation  of 
political  Uberty. 

We  have  no  selfish  ends  to  serve.  We  desire  no  con- 
quest, no  dominion.     We  seek  no  indemnities  for  our- 

In  an  address  even  "more  memorable"  than  his  speech  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  breaking  off  of  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  President 
Wilson  outlined  his  reason  for  declaring  that  war  existed  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Imperial  German  Government.  In  the  late 
hours  of  the  evening  of  April  2,  1917,  he  appeared  before  the  65th  Con- 
gress, in  special  session  assembled,  and  delivered  this  new  Declaration 
of  Rights.  The  editors  of  our  newspapers  have  been  practically  unani- 
mous in  declaring  this  one  of  the  greatest  of  our  state  documents. 

Mr.  Gilbert  K.  Chesterton,  in  commenting  on  this  speech,  said  that 
Mr.  Wilson  was  "truly  and  worthily  the  orator  of  the  human  race. 
The  simple  words  with  which  he  ended  are  among  the  sort  of  historic 
sayings  that  can  be  graven  on  stone.  'God  helping  her  she  can  do  no 
other.'  That  is  the  answer  of  humanity  to  all  possible  preaching  about 
the  inhumanity  of  war,  to  the  most  that  can  be  said,  to  the  worst  that 
can  be  endured." 

109 


110  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

selves,  no  material  compensation  for  the  sacrifices  we 
shall  freely  make. 

We  are  but  one  of  the  champions  of  the  rights  of  man- 
kind. We  shall  be  satisfied  when  those  rights  have  been 
made  as  secure  as  the  faith  and  the  freedom  of  the  nations 
can  make  them. 

Just  because  we  fight  without  rancor  and  without  self- 
ish objects,  seeking  nothing  for  ourselves  but  what  we 
shall  wish  to  share  as  free  peoples,  we  shall,  I  feel  confident, 
conduct  our  operations  as  belligerents  without  passion, 
and  ourselves  observe  with  proud  punctilio  the  principles 
of  right  and  of  fair  play  we  profess  to  be  fighting  for. 

It  will  be  all  the  easier  for  us  to  conduct  ourselves  as 
belligerents  in  a  high  spirit  of  right  and  fairness  because 
we  act  without  animus,  not  in  enmity  towards  a  people 
or  with  the  desire  to  bring  any  injury  or  disadvantage 
upon  them,  but  only  in  armed  opposition  to  an  irrespon- 
sible government,  which  has  thrown  aside  all  consider- 
ations of  humanity  and  of  right  and  is  running  amuck. 

We  shall,  happily,  still  have  an  opportunity  to  prove 
our  friendship  in  our  daily  attitude  and  actions  towards 
the  millions  of  men  and  women  of  German  birth  and 
native  sympathy  who  live  amongst  us  and  share  our  hfe, 
and  we  shall  be  proud  to  prove  it  towards  all  who  are  in 
fact  loyal  to  their  neighbors  and  to  the  government  in 
the  hour  of  test.  They  are,  most  of  them,  as  true  and 
loyal  Americans  as  if  they  had  never  known  any  other 
fealty  or  allegiance.  They  will  be  prompt  to  stand  with 
us  in  rebuking  and  restraining  the  few  who  may  be  of  a 
different  mind  and  purpose.  If  there  should  be  dis- 
loyalty it  will  be  dealt  with  with  a  firm  hand  of  stern 
repression ;  but  if  it  lifts  its  head  at  all  it  will  lift  it  only 
here  and  there  and  without  countenance  except  from  a 
lawless  and  malignant  few. 


WOODROW   WILSON  111 

Gentlemen  of  the  congress,  it  is  a  distressing  and  op- 
pressive duty  which  I  have  performed  in  thus  addressing 
you.  There  are,  it  may  be,  many  months  of  fiery  trial 
and  sacrifice  ahead  of  us.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  lead 
this  great  peaceful  people  into  war,  into  the  most  ter- 
rible and  disastrous  of  all  wars,  civilization  itself  seeming 
to  be  in  the  balance. 

But  the  right  is  more  precious  than  peace,  and  we  shall 
fight  for  the  things  which  we  have  always  carried  nearest 
our  hearts,  —  for  democracy,  for  the  right  of  those  who 
submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their  own  govern- 
ments, for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a 
universal  dominion  of  right  by  such  a  concert  of  free 
peoples  as  shall  bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and 
make  the  world  itself  at  last  free. 

To  such  a  task  we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and  our  for- 
tunes, everything  that  we  are  and  everything  that  we 
have,  with  the  pride  of  those  who  know  that  the  day  has 
come  when  America  is  privileged  to  spend  her  blood  and 
her  might  for  the  principles  that  gave  her  birth  and  hap- 
piness and  the  peace  which  she  has  treasured.  God  help- 
ing her,  she  can  do  no  other. 


FRANCE  CONGRATULATES   AMERICA 
Raymond  Poincare 

At  the  moment  when,  under  the  generous  inspiration 
of  yourself,  the  great  American  repubhc,  faithful  to  its 
ideals  and  traditions,  is  coming  forward  to  defend  with 
the  force  of  arms  the  cause  of  justice  and  liberty,  the 
people  of  France  are  filled  with  the  deepest  feelings  of 
brotherly  appreciation. 

Permit  me  again  to  give  j'ou,  Mr.  President,  in  this 
solemn  and  grave  hour,  an  assurance  of  the  same  senti- 
ments of  which  I  recently  gave  you  evidence,  sentiments, 
which  under  the  present  circumstances  have  grown  in 
depth  and  warmth, 

I  am  confident  that  I  voice  the  thought  of  all  France 
in  expressing  to  you  and  to  the  American  nation  the 
joy  and  pride  which  we  feel  to-day  as  our  hearts  again 
beat  in  unison  with  yours. 

This  war  would  not  have  reached  its  final  import  had 
not  the  United  States  been  led  by  the  enemy  himself  to 
take  part  in  it.  To  every  impartial  spirit  it  will  be 
apparent,  in  the  future  more  than  ever  in  the  past,  that 
German  imperialism,  which  desired,  prepared  and  de- 
clared this  war,  had  conceived  the  mad  dream  of  estab- 
lishing its  hegemony  throughout  the  world.  It  has  suc- 
ceeded only  in  bringing  about  a  revolt  of  the  conscience 
of  humanity. 

This  message  was  cabled  on  April  5,  1917,  by  President  Poincar6  to 
President  Wilson. 

112 


Raymond  Poincare 


RAYMOND   POINCARfi  113 

In  never-to-be-forgotten  language  you  have  made 
yourself,  before  the  universe,  the  eloquent  interpreter  of 
outraged  laws  and  a  menaced  civilization. 

Honor  to  you,  Mr.  President,  and  to  your  noble  coun- 
try.    I  beg  you  to  believe  in  my  devoted  friendship. 


MESSAGE  TO   AMERICA 
David  Lloyd  George 

America  has  in  one  bound  become  a  world  power  in  a 
sense  never  before.  America  waited  until  she  found  a 
cause  worthy  of  her  traditions. 

The  American  people  held  back  until  they  were  fully 
convinced  the  fight  was  not  a  sordid  scrimmage  for  power 
and  possessions,  but  an  unselfish  struggle  to  overthrow 
sinister  conspiracy  against  human  hberty  and  human 
rights. 

Once  that  conviction  was  reached,  the  great  republic 
of  the  west  has  leaped  into  the  arena  and  stands  now  side 
by  side  with  the  European  democracies,  who,  bruised  and 
bleeding  after  three  years  of  grim  conflict,  are  still  fight- 
ing the  most  savage  foe  that  ever  menaced  the  freedom  of 
the  world. 

The  glowing  phrases  of  the  President's  noble  deliver- 
ance will  illumine  the  horizon  and  make  clearer  than  ever 
the  goal  we  are  striving  to  reach. 

There  are  two  phrases  which  will  stand  out  forever  in 
the  story  of  this  crusade,  —  first,  "that  the  world  must 
be  made  safe  for  democracy"  —  next,  that  "the  menace 
to  peace  and  freedom  lies  in  the  existence  of  autocratic 
governments  backed  by  organized  force  and  controlled 
wholly  by  their  will  and  not  by  the  will  of  their  people." 

On  April  6,  1917,  Lloyd  GeorRe,  spcakinK  for  the  Cabinet,  and  "all 
the  people  and  all  the  nations  of  the  British  Empire,"  commended 
America  on  her  stand  in  entering  the  world  war. 

114 


DAVID   LLOYD   GEORGE  115 

These  words  represent  the  faith  which  inspires  and 
sustains  our  people  in  the  tremendous  sacrifices  they  have 
made  and  are  still  making. 

They  also  believe  the  unity  of  peace  maintained  can 
only  rest  upon  democracy,  upon  the  rights  of  those  who 
submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their  government ; 
upon  the  respect  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  nations 
both  great  and  small,  and  upon  universal  dominion  of  the 
public  right. 

To  all  these  the  Prussian  military  autocracy  is  an  im- 
placable foe. 

The  Imperial  war  cabinet,  representing  all  the  people 
and  all  the  nations  of  the  British  empire,  wish  me  in  their 
behalf  to  recognize  the  chivalry  and  courage  which  calls 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  dedicate  the  whole  of 
their  resources  and  service  to  the  greatest  cause  that  ever 
engaged  human  endeavor. 


GREETINGS   FROM   A  SISTER  REPUBLIC 
M.  RiBOT  AND  M.  Deschanel 

M.    RiBOT 

You  have  heard  the  admirable  message  of  President 
Wilson.  We  all  feel  that  something  important,  some- 
thing which  exceeds  the  proportions  of  a  pohtical  event, 
has  been  accomplished. 

It  is  a  historic  fact  of  imequaled  import  —  this  entry 
into  the  war  on  the  side  of  us  and  our  allies  of  the  most 
peaceable  democracy  in  the  world.  After  having  done 
everything  to  affirm  its  attachment  to  peace,  the  great 
American  nation  declares  solemnly  that  it  cannot  remain 
neutral  in  this  immense  conflict  between  right  and  vio- 
lence, between  civilization  and  barbarism.  It  holds  that 
honor  requires  it  to  take  up  the  challenge  flung  at  the 
rules  of  international  law  so  laboriously  built  up  by  civ- 
ilized nations.     (Applause.) 

But  at  the  same  time  it  declares  that  it  is  not  fighting 
for  self-interest,  that  it  desires  neither  conquest  nor  com- 
pensation, that  it  intends  only  to  help  toward  a  victory 
of  the  cause  of  law  and  liberty.  (The  deputies  rise  and 
applaud.) 

The  grandeur,  the  nobility,  of  this  action  is  enhanced 
by  the  simplicity  and  serenity  of  the  language  of  the  illus- 
trious leader  of  that  great  democracy.     (Applause.) 

These  two  speeches  were  made  on  April  6,  1917,  in  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  M.  Ribot  was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs ; 
M.  Deschanel,  President  of  the  Chamber.  The  two  speeches  were 
widely  circulated  throughout  France  by  the  order  of  the  Government. 

116 


M.    RIBOT  117 

If  the  world  had  entertained  the  least  doubt  of  the 
profound  meaning  of  this  war  in  which  we  are  engaged, 
the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  would 
dissipate  all  obscurity.  It  makes  apparent  to  all  that  the 
struggle  is  verily  a  struggle  between  the  liberal  spirit  of 
modern  societies  and  the  spirit  of  oppression  of  societies 
still  enslaved  to  military  despotism.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  the  message  rings  in  the  depths  of  all  hearts  like  a 
message  of  deliverance  to  the  world.     (Applause.) 

The  people  who,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  writings 
of  our  philosophers,  declared  their  rights  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  people  who  place  Washington  and  Lincoln 
foremost  among  their  heroes,  the  people  who  in  the  last 
century  suffered  a  civil  war  for  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
were  indeed  worthy  to  give  such  an  example  to  the 
world. 

Thus  do  they  remain  faithful  to  the  traditions  of  the 
founders  of  their  independence,  and  demonstrate  that  the 
enormous  rise  of  their  industrial  strength  and  of  their 
economic  and  financial  power  has  not  weakened  in  them 
that  need  for  an  ideal  without  which  there  can  be  no  great 
nation.     (Applause.) 

What  touches  us  particularly  is  that  the  United  States 
has  held  to  the  friendship  which  at  an  earlier  time  was 
ratified  in  blood.  We  bear  witness  with  grateful  joy  to 
the  enduring  sympathy  between  the  peoples,  which  is 
one  of  the  delicate  virtues  the  bosom  of  a  democracy  can 
nourish. 

The  Star-spangled  Banner  and  the  Tricolor  will  fly 
side  by  side;  our  hands  will  join;  our  hearts  beat  in 
unison.  This  will  mean  for  us,  after  so  much  suffering, 
heroically  borne,  so  many  bereavements,  so  many  ruins, 
a  renewal  of  the  sentiments  which  have  animated  and 
sustained  us  during  this  long  trial.     The  powerful,  deci- 


118  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

give  aid  which  the  United  States  brings  us  is  not  only  a 
material  aid ;  it  will  be  especially  moral  aid,  a  real  con- 
solation.    (Applause.) 

Seeing  the  conscience  of  peoples  everywhere  in  the 
world  awake  and  rise  in  an  immense  protest  against  the 
atrocities  of  which  we  are  the  victims,  we  feel  more  keenly 
that  we  are  fighting  not  only  for  ourselves  and  for  our 
allies,  but  for  something  immortal,  and  that  we  are  lay- 
ing the  foundations  of  a  new  order.  Thus  our  sacrifices 
will  not  have  been  in  vain ;  the  generous  blood  poured 
out  by  the  sons  of  France  will  have  fertihzed  the  seeds 
both  of  justice  and  of  liberty  so  fundamentally  necessary 
to  concord  between  nations.     (Applause.) 

In  the  name  of  the  whole  country,  the  government  of 
the  French  Republic  addresses  to  the  government  and 
people  of  the  United  States,  with  the  expression  of  its 
gratitude,  its  warmest  good  wishes.     (Prolonged  cheers.) 

M.  Deschanel 

The  French  Chamber  greets  with  enthusiasm  the  ver- 
dict of  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  vigorous  decision  of  the  Federal  Senate  accept- 
ing the  war  imposed  by  Germany. 

^schylus  says  in  "The  Persians":  "When  insolence 
takes  root,  it  grows  into  crime ;  the  harvest  is  suffering." 
And  we  can  say:  ''The  growth  of  the  crime  brings  ven- 
geance ;  after  the  harvest  of  suffering  comes  the  harvest 
of  justice!"     (Applause.) 

The  cry  of  the  women  and  children  from  the  depths 
of  the  abyss  where  hideous  wickedness  flung  them  has 
echoed  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other.  Wash- 
ington and  Lincoln  trembled  in  their  graves ;  their  spirit 
has  roused  America.     (Applause.) 


M.   DESCHANEL  119 

But  is  it  a  question  only  of  avenging  Americans?  Is 
it  a  question  of  punishing  only  the  violation  of  treaties 
signed  by  the  United  States?  No;  the  eternal  truths 
proclaimed  in  the  Declaration  of  1776,  the  sacred  causes 
which  Lafayette  and  Rochambeau  defended,  the  ideals 
of  a  pure  conscience  from  which  the  great  Republic  was 
born  —  honor,  morality,  liberty  —  these  are  the  supreme 
values  which  shine  in  the  folds  of  the  Star-spangled 
Banner.     (Applause.) 

Descendants  of  the  Puritans  of  New  England,  brought 
up  on  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  who  under  the  eyes  of 
God  are  about  to  punish  the  infernal  creation  of  evil, 
falsehood,  perjury,  assassination,  profanation,  rape,  slav- 
ery, martyrdom,  and  disasters  of  every  kind ;  CathoUcs 
struck  to  the  heart  by  curses  against  their  religion,  by 
outrages  against  their  cathedrals  and  statues,  reaching  a 
climax  in  the  destruction  of  Louvain  and  of  Rheims ; 
university  professors,  trustworthy  guardians  of  law  and 
learning;  industrialists  of  the  East  and  Middle  West, 
farmers  and  agriculturists  of  the  West;  workmen  and 
artisans,  threatened  by  the  torpedoing  of  vessels,  by  the 
interruption  of  commerce,  revolted  by  the  insults  to  their 
national  colors  —  all  are  arrayed  against  the  mad  arro- 
gance which  would  enslave  the  earth,  the  sea,  the  heavens, 
and  the  souls  of  men.     (Prolonged  applause.) 

At  a  time  when,  as  in  the  heroic  times  of  the  American 
Revolution,  the  Americans  are  to  fight  with  us,  let  us 
repeat  once  more :  We  wish  to  prevent  no  one  from  liv- 
ing, working,  and  trading  freely;  but  the  tyranny  of 
Prussia  has  become  a  peril  for  the  New  World  as  for  the 
Old,  for  England  as  for  Russia,  for  Italy  as  for  Austria, 
and  for  Germany  itsfelf.  To  free  the  world,  by  a  common 
effort  of  all  democratic  peoples,  from  the  yoke  of  a  feudal 
and  military  caste  in  order  to  found  peace  upon  right. 


120  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

is  a  work  of  human  deliverance  and  universal  good. 
(Applause.) 

In  accomplishing,  under  an  administration  henceforth 
immortal,  the  greatest  act  in  its  annals  since  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  the  glorious  nation  whose  whole  history  is  but 
a  development  of  the  idea  of  liberty  remains  true  to  its 
lofty  origin  and  creates  for  itself  another  claim  to  the 
gratitude  of  mankind.     (Applause.) 

The  French  Republic,  across  the  ruins  of  its  cities  and 
its  monuments,  devastated  without  reason  or  excuse  by 
shameful  savagery,  sends  to  its  beloved  sister  Republic 
in  America  the  palms  of  the  Marne  and  the  Yser,  of  Ver- 
dun and  the  Somme.     (Prolonged  applause  and  cheers.)  ^ 

1  At  the  close  of  this  speech  one  of  the  deputies  asked  that  the  two 
speeches  which  the  Chamber  had  just  heard  be  issued  as  proclamations 
and  read  in  the  schools  of  France.  There  was  no  opposition  and  the 
proclamation  was  ordered. 


AMERICA,   A  BEACON   LIGHT  OF  PEACE 
Gabriele  D'Annunzio 

For  the  soul  of  Italy  to-day  the  capitol  at  Washington 
has  become  a  beacon  light.  A  Roman  garland  wreathes 
the  bust  dedicated  to  the  hero  whom  free  men  call  the 
glorious  knight  of  humanity. 

It  is  a  garland  pure  as  the  branch  of  hlac  offered  by  a 
poet  on  the  bier  of  Lincoln.  It  is  sacred  as  the  ever  flow- 
ering bough  "with  heart-shaped  leaves  of  rich  green." 
It  seems  as  though  in  this  April  of  passion  and  tempest 
there  reechoes  the  cry  of  that  April,  tense  with  joy  and 
anguish,  "O,  captain!  My  captain,  rise  up!  Hear  the 
bells.     Rise  up,  for  your  flag  is  flung." 

Now  the  group  of  stars  on  the  banner  of  the  great 
republic  has  become  a  constellation  of  the  spring,  like 
Pleiades ;  a  propitious  sign  to  sailors,  armed  and  unarmed 
alike ;  a  spiritual  token  for  all  nations  fighting  a  righteous 
war.  I  give  the  salute  of  Italy,  of  the  Roman  capitol, 
to  the  capitol  at  Washington ;  a  salute  to  the  people  of 
the  union,  who  now  confirm  and  seal  the  pledge  that  lib- 
erty shall  be  preserved. 

This  Italian  poet,  who  is  novv  serving  his  country  in  the  aviation 
corps,  was  "overcome  with  joy"  on  hearing  of  the  entrance  of  the 
United  States  into  the  world  war.  This  is  his  message  cabled  to  America 
on  Sunday  morning,  April  8,  1917. 

Gabriele  D'Annunzio,  poet,  novelist,  and  dramatist,  was  born  in 
Pescara  in  1864.  He  was  educated  at  the  College  of  Prato  in  Tuscany 
and  at  the  University  of  Rome.  He  became  a  Member  of  the  Italian 
Chamber  in  1898. 

121 


122  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

To  Italy  alone  of  the  allied  nations  the  possibility  was 
open  of  avoiding  war  and  remaining  a  passive  spectator, 
Italy  took  up  arms  gladly,  less  for  the  reconquest  of  her 
heritage  than  for  the  salvation  of  all  the  things  which 
symbolize  the  grandeur  of  freedom.  She  armed  herself, 
as  to-day  the  American  nation  is  arming  herself,  for  the 
sake  of  an  ideal.  The  spontaneous  act  consummated  by 
the  fellow-countrymen  of  Washington  is  a  glorious  sacri- 
fice on  behalf  of  the  hopes  of  all  mankind. 

America  has  achieved  a  new  birth.  She  has  molded 
for  herself  a  new  heart.  This  is  the  miracle  wrought  by 
a  righteous  war,  the  miracle  that  unexpectedly  to-day 
we  of  Italy  see  performed  beyond  an  ocean  dishonored 
by  assassins  and  thieves. 

Our  war  is  not  destructive.  It  is  creative.  With  all 
manner  of  atrocities,  all  manner  of  shameful  acts,  the 
barbarian  has  striven  to  destroy  the  ideal  which,  until 
this  struggle  began,  man  had  of  man.  The  barbarian 
heaped  upon  the  innocent,  infamous  outrages  inspired 
by  hate,  alternating  senile  imprudence  and  brutal  stu- 
pidity. The  barbarian  ground  heroism  to  earth,  cast 
down  the  airy  cathedrals  where  congregated  the  aspira- 
tions of  the  eternal  soul,  burned  the  seats  of  wisdom 
decked  with  the  flowers  of  all  the  arts;  distorted  the 
lineaments  of  Christ,  tore  off  the  garments  of  the  Virgin. 

Now  once  again  we  begin  to  have  hope  of  the  nobility 
of  man.  Love's  face  is  radiant,  though  its  eyes  are  moist 
with  tears,  for  never  was  love  so  much  beloved.  Love 
overflows  on  all  the  world  like  a  brook  in  May.  Our 
hearts  are  not  large  enough  to  gather  it  and  to  hold  it. 

The  people  of  Lincoln,  springing  to  their  feet  to  defend 
the  eternal  spirit  of  man,  to-day  increase  immeasurably 
this  sum  of  love  opposed  to  fury,  the  fury  of  the  barbarian. 

"Ah!    Liberty.     Let   others   despair   of  thee.     I   will 


GABRIELE   D'ANNUNZIO  123 

never  despair  of  thee,"  once  cried  your  rugged  poet. 
In  this  hope  your  nation  arises  to-day,  in  the  north,  south, 
east,  west,  to  offer  your  strength,  proclaiming  our  cause 
to  be  the  noblest  cause  for  which  men  have  ever  fought. 
You  were  an  enormous  and  obtuse  mass  of  riches  and 
power;  now  you  are  transfigured  into  ardent,  active 
spirituality.  The  roll  of  your  drums  drowns  out  the  last 
wail  of  doubt. 

April  15th  is  the  anniversary  of  Lincoln's  death.  From 
his  sepulcher  there  issue  again  the  noble  words  which 
fell  from  his  hps  at  Gettysburg,  on  soil  sanctified  by  the 
blood  of  brave  men.  All  your  states,  north,  south,  east, 
west,  hear  them.  I  say  to  you  that  ''this  nation,  under 
God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom." 


AMERICA   ENTERS  THE  WAR 
David  Lloyd  George 

I  AM  the  last  man  in  the  world,  knowing  for  three  years 
what  our  difficulties  have  been,  what  our  anxieties  have 
been,  and  what  our  fears  have  been  —  I  am  the  last  man 
in  the  world  to  say  that  the  succor  which  is  given  from 
America  is  not  in  itself  something  to  rejoice  at,  and  to 
rejoice  at  greatly.  But  I  also  say  that  I  value  more  the 
knowledge  that  America  is  going  to  win  a  right  to  be  at 
the  conference  table  when  the  terms  of  peace  are  discussed. 

That  conference  will  settle  the  destiny  of  nations  and 
the  course  of  human  life  for  God  knows  how  many  years. 
It  would  have  been  a  tragedy,  a  tragedy  for  mankind,  if 
America  had  not  been  there,  and  there  with  all  her  influ- 
ence and  her  power. 

I  can  see  peace,  not  a  peace  to  be  a  beginning  of  war, 
not  a  peace  which  will  be  an  endless  preparation  for  strife 
and  bloodshed,  but  a  real  peace.  The  world  is  an  old 
world.  You  have  never  had  the  racking  wars  that  have 
rolled  like  an  ocean  over  Europe. 

Europe  has  always  lived  under  the  menace  of  the 
sword.  When  this  war  began,  two  thirds  of  Europe  was 
under  autocratic  rule.     Now  it  is  the  other  way  about, 

Before  the  American  Luncheon  Club  of  London,  on  April  12,  1917, 
Great  Britain's  Prime  Minister  spoke  on  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  war  with  Germany. 

Ambassador  PaRe  was  present  and  responded  for  the  Club.  Hie 
apeech  follows  this  one. 

124 


David  Lloyd  George 


DAVID   LLOYD   GEORGE  125 

and  democracy  means  peace.  The  democracy  of  France 
hesitated ;  the  democracy  of  Italy  hesitated  long  before 
it  entered ;  the  democracy  of  this  country  sprang  back 
with  a  shudder  and  would  never  have  entered  that  cal- 
dron had  it  not  been  for  the  invasion  of  Belgium ;  and  if 
Prussia  had  been  a  democracy,  there  would  have  been 
no  war. 

Many  strange  things  have  happened  in  this  war,  aye, 
and  stranger  things  will  come,  and  they  are  coming 
rapidly.  There  are  times  in  history  when  this  world 
spins  so  leisurely  along  its  destined  course  that  it  seems 
for  centuries  to  be  at  a  standstill.  There  are  awful  times 
when  it  rushes  along  at  giddying  pace,  covering  the  track 
of  centuries  in  a  year.  Those  are  the  times  we  are  living 
in  now.  Six  weeks  ago  Russia  was  an  autocracy.  She 
now  is  one  of  the  most  advanced  democracies  in  the 
world. 

To-day  we  are  waging  one  of  the  most  devastating  wars 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  To-morrow,  to-morrow, 
not  perhaps  distant  to-morrows,  war  may  be  abolished 
forever  from  the  category  of  human  crimes.  This  may 
be  something  like  that  fierce  outburst  of  winter  which 
we  now  are  witnessing  before  we  complete  the  time  for 
the  summer. 

It  is  written  of  those  gallant  men  who  won  that  victory 
on  Monday,  from  Canada,  from  Australia,  and  from  this 
old  country  —  it  has  proved  that  in  spite  of  its  age  it  is 
not  decrepit  —  it  is  written  of  those  gallant  men  that 
they  attacked  at  dawn.  Fitting  work  for  the  dawn  —  to 
drive  out  of  forty  miles  of  French  soil  those  miscreants 
who  had  defiled  her  freedom.  They  attacked  with  the 
dawn.     It  is  a  significant  phrase. 

The  great  nations  represented  in  the  struggle  for  free- 
dom —  they  are  the  heralds  of  dawn.     They  attacked 


126  THE   FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

with  dawn,  and  those  men  are  marching  forward  in  the 
full  radiance  of  that  dawn,  and  soon  Frenchmen  and 
Americans,  British  and  Russians,  aye,  Serbians,  and  Bel- 
gians, Montenegrins,  and  Roumanians,  will  emerge  into 
the  full  hght  of  a  perfect  day. 


GREAT  DAYS   FOR  THE  REPUBLIC 
Walter  Hines  Page 

These  are  great  days  for  the  republic.  We  have  set 
out  to  help  in  an  enterprise  of  saving  the  earth  as  a  place 
worth  Uving  in. 

There  is  no  need  to  restate  the  meaning  of  this  enter- 
prise to  you.  What  is  new  about  it  is  that  it  now  becomes 
our  immediate  American  enterprise.  The  clear,  solemn 
call  of  the  President  and  the  voice  of  Congress,  which 
is  the  voice  of  the  people,  are  to  us  the  high  call  of  dut5^ 
If  there  be  an  American  in  this  room  who  has  not  volun- 
teered to  give  any  service  that  he  can  without  thought  of 
consequence  or  of  pay,  I  don't  see  him. 

From  all  of  the  states,  from  the  states  of  the  great 
Mississippi  valley,  from  the  South  and  from  the  Pacific, 
they  will  come,  as  many  millions  as  need  be.  You  are 
parts  also  of  our  great  industrial  organizations  and  finan- 
cial institutions,  and  these,  too,  already  are  at  the  service 
of  our  government.  We  shall  not  have  to  do  any  com- 
mandeering. 

Ambassador  Page,  representing  the  American  Luncheon  Club  of 
London,  made  fitting  reply  to  the  words  of  Lloyd  George  in  commending 
America  on  her  newly  taken  stand  on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 

Walter  Hines  Page  is  a  North  Carolinian  by  birth,  having  been  born 
in  that  state  on  the  15th  day  of  August,  1855.  Mr.  Page  is  well  edu- 
cated, having  attended  Randolph  Macon  College,  and  Tulane,  Aberdeen 
(Scotland),  and  Johns  Hopkins  Universities.  He  became  editor  of 
The  Forum  in  1890,  and  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  in  1896.  He  was  editor 
of  the  World's  Work  when  he  was  selected  by  President  Wilson  in  1913 
to  represent  American  interests  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 

127 


128  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

For  the  first  time  we  are  coming  to  war  in  the  old 
world  —  except,  indeed,  when  once  before  we  came 
thither  to  suppress  the  Barbary  pirates.  It  is  singular 
that  our  present  errand  is  so  similar. 

Of  our  coming  overseas  many  consequences  will  follow. 
First  and  foremost  we  trust  for  an  earlier  victory,  and, 
secondly,  for  a  better  understanding  of  the  United  States 
by  the  free  nations  of  Europe  and  of  the  free  nations  of 
Europe  by  the  United  States,  and  this,  as  I  see  it,  is  the 
largest  constructive  political  need  of  the  world. 

We  come  in  answer  only  to  the  high  call  of  duty  and 
not  for  any  material  reward ;  not  for  territory,  not  for 
indemnity  or  conquest,  not  for  anything  save  the  high 
duty  to  succor  democracy  when  it  is  desperately  assailed. 
We  come  only  for  the  ideal ;  that  is,  the  republic. 

What  is  the  United  States?  It  is  a  vast  territory  of 
great  resources  and  a  hundred  million  prosperous  people, 
yes,  but  more.  The  republic  is  a  system  of  society,  a 
scheme  of  life,  a  plan  of  freedom,  a  state  of  mind  —  an 
ideal  that  every  human  shall  have  the  utmost  possible 
opportunity  for  individual  development  and  that  noth- 
ing shall  be  put  in  the  way  of  that  development.  It  was 
for  this  and  upon  this  that  our  fathers  established  it. 
This  we  haven't  forgotten,  nor  shall  we  ever  forget.  It  is 
to  make  sure  that  this  ideal  shall  not  now  perish  from  the 
earth  that  brings  the  United  States  into  this  war.  High 
as  the  cost  and  great  as  the  toll  may  be,  we  shall  be  better 
for  standing  where  we  have  always  stood,  whatever  the 
cost. 


COMRADES  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE 
Bishop  Brent 

We  comrades  in  the  common  cause  have  come  together 
hke  sturdy  Judas  Maccabaeus  and  his  fellow  patriots  in 
the  ancient  story,  to  commit  our  decision  to  the  Lord  and 
place  ourselves  in  His  hands  before  we  pitch  our  camp 
and  go  forth  to  battle.  It  were  an  unworthy  cause  that 
we  could  not  commit  to  God  with  complete  confidence. 
To-day  we  have  this  confidence. 

This,  I  venture  to  say,  is  not  merely  the  beginning  of 
a  new  era,  but  of  a  new  epoch.  At  this  moment  a  great 
nation  well  skilled  in  self-sacrifice,  is  standing  by  with 
deep  sympathy  and  bidding  Godspeed  to  another  great 
nation  that  is  making  its  act  of  self -dedication  to  God. 
That  altar  upon  which  we  Americans  are  to-day  laying 

On  April  20,  1917,  the  British  Government  and  people  celebrated 
the  entry  of  America  into  the  world  war.  A  historic  ser\'ice  was  held 
in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London.  The  cathedral  holds  about  31,000 
people  and  was  filled  to  its  farthest  recesses,  when  King  George  and 
Queen  Mary  entered,  followed  by  the  mayors  and  aldermen  of  the 
twenty-six  boroughs  of  London,  wearing  their  scarlet  robes  of  office. 

The  king  and  queen  and  Princess  Mary  were  received  at  the  west 
entrance  by  the  lord  mayor  and  sheriff,  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
the  dean  and  chapter  of  St.  Paul's,  and  the  United  States  ambassador, 
Walter  Hines  Page. 

The  American  embassy  and  consular  staffs  occupied  front  seats  with 
representatives  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  American  Society,  the  American 
Luncheon  Club,  and  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce.  In  the  diplo- 
matic section  were  officers  in  the  uniforms  of  France,  Russia,  Italy, 
Belgium,  Serbia,  Montenegro,  Roumania,  and  Japan. 

The  most  impressive  feature  of  the  service  came  when  the  band 
played  a  stanza  of  "The  Star-spangled  Banner"  and  the  great  crowd 
rose  as  one  man. 

The  sermon  here  given  was  preached  by  Bishop  Brent,  Episcopal 
bishop  of  the  Philippines,  from  the  text  in  Maccabees  II.  13  ending, 
"having  given  out  to  his  men  the  watchword,  'Victory  is  God's.'  " 

129 


130  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

our  lives  and  our  fortunes  is  already  occupied.  After  three 
years  Great  Britain  and  her  allies  have  been  fighting  not 
merely  for  their  own  laws,  their  own  homes,  their  liberty, 
and  all  they  hold  sacred,  but  for  the  great  commonwealth 
of  mankind. 

To-day,  when  the  United  States  avow  their  intention 
of  giving  themselves  wholeheartedly  to  this  great  cause, 
the  battle  for  the  right  assumes  new  proportions.  A 
new  power  and  victory  —  aye,  a  victory  that  is  God's  — 
is  in  sight.  We  Americans  have  never  been  oblivious  to 
the  fact  that  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  stand- 
ing for  the  same  principles  which  we  love  and  for  which 
we  live.  England,  thank  God,  is  the  mother  of  democ- 
racy, and  England's  children  come  back  to-day  to  pour  all 
their  experience,  the  experience  of  a  century  and  a  half  of 
independent  life,  with  gratitude  at  the  feet  of  their  mother. 

To-day  we  stand  side  by  side  with  our  fellows  as  com- 
mon soldiers  in  the  common  fight.  There  have  been 
great  quarrels  in  the  past  that  were  results  of  misunder- 
standing, but  our  quarrel  with  Germany  is  not  based  on 
misunderstanding.  It  is  due  to  understanding.  Just 
as  it  was  understanding  that  made  us  break  with  Ger- 
many, so  it  is  understanding  which  makes  us  take  our 
place  by  the  side  of  the  Allies.  It  would  have  been  im- 
possible for  us  to  do  otherwise. 

This  act  of  America  has  enabled  her  to  find  her  soul. 
America,  which  stands  for  democracy,  must  champion  the 
cause  of  the  plain  people  at  all  costs.  The  plain  people 
most  desire  peace.  That  is  what  America  with  the  AlUes 
is  fighting  for.  She  thinks  so  much  of  peace  that  she  is 
ready  to  pay  the  cost  of  war.  Our  war  to-day  is  that  we 
may  destroy  war.  One  thing  to  do  with  war  is  to  hunt 
it  to  its  death  and,  please  God,  in  this  war  we  shall  achieve 
our  purpose. 


Rene  Raphael  Viviani 


FRANCE  GIVES  YOU  GREETING 

Rene  Viviani 

I  AM  indeed  happy  to  have  been  chosen  to  present  the 
greetings  of  the  French  Repubhc  to  the  illustrious  man 
whose  name  is  in  every  French  mouth  to-day,  whose 
incomparable  message  is  at  this  very  hour  being  read 
and  commented  upon  in  all  our  schools  as  the  most  per- 
fect charter  of  human  rights,  and  which  so  fully  expresses 
the  virtues  of  your  race  —  long-suffering  patience  before 
appealing  to  force,  and  force  to  avenge  that  long-suffer- 
ing patience  when  there  can  be  no  other  means. 

Since  you  are  here  to  listen  to  me,  I  ask  you  to  repeat 
a  thousandfold  the  expression  of  our  deep  gratitude  for 
the  enthusiastic  reception  the  American  people  have 
granted  us  in  Washington.  It  is  not  to  us,  but  to  our 
beloved  and  heroic  France,  that  reception  was  accorded. 
We  were  proud  to  be  her  children  in  those  unforgetable 
moments  when  we  read  in  the  radiance  of  the  faces  we 
saw,  the  noble  sincerity  of  your  hearts.  And  I  desire  to 
thank  also  the  press  of  the  United  States,  represented  by 
you.  I  fully  realize  the  ardent  and  disinterested  help 
you  have  given  by  your  tireless  propaganda  in  the  cause 
of  right.  I  know  your  action  has  been  incalculable. 
Gentlemen,  I  thank  you. 

We  have  come  to  this  land  to  salute  the  American 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  America,  April  27,  1917,  as  head  of  the 
French  Government's  Commission,  M.  Viviani  gave  this  statement  to 
newspaper  men. 

131 


132  THE   FORUM   OF  DEMOCRACY 

people  and  its  Government,  to  call  to  fresh  vigor  our  life- 
long friendship,  sweet  and  cordial  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  our  lives,  and  which  these  tragic  hours  have  raised  to 
all  the  ardor  of  brotherly  love  —  a  brotherly  love  which 
in  these  last  years  of  suffering  has  multiplied  its  most 
touching  expressions.  You  have  given  help  not  only  in 
treasure,  in  every  act  of  kindness  and  good  will,  but  for 
us  your  children  have  shed  their  blood,  and  the  names  of 
your  sacred  dead  are  inscribed  forever  in  our  hearts. 
And  it  was  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  what 
you  did  that  you  acted.  Your  inexhaustible  generosity 
was  not  the  charity  of  the  fortunate  to  the  distressed, 
it  was  an  affirmation  of  your  conscience,  a  reasoned  ap- 
proval of  your  judgment. 

Your  fellow-countrymen  knew  that  under  the  savage 
assault  of  a  nation  of  prey  which  has  made  of  war,  to 
quote  a  famous  saying,  its  national  industry,  we  were 
upholding  with  our  incomparable  allies  —  faithful  and 
valiant  to  the  death,  with  all  those  who  are  fighting 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  on  the  firing  line,  the  sons  of 
indomitable  England  —  a  struggle  for  the  violated  rights  of 
man,  for  that  democratic  spirit  which  the  forces  of  au- 
tocracy were  attempting  to  crush  throughout  the  world. 
We  are  ready  to  carry  that  struggle  on  to  the  end. 

And  now,  as  President  Wilson  has  said,  the  Republic 
of  the  United  States  rises  in  its  strength  as  a  champion 
of  right  and  rallies  to  the  side  of  France  and  her  allies. 
Only  our  descendants,  when  time  has  removed  them  suffi- 
ciently far  from  present  events,  will  be  able  to  measure 
the  full  significance,  the  grandeur  of  an  historic  act  which 
has  sent  a  thrill  through  the  whole  world.  From  to-day 
on  all  the  forces  of  freedom  are  let  loose.  And  not  only 
victory,  of  which  we  were  already  assured,  is  certain ; 
the  true  meaning  of  victory  is  made  manifest.     It  can- 


RENE    VIVIANI  133 

not  be  merely  a  fortunate  military  conclusion  to  this 
struggle ;  it  will  be  the  victory  of  morality  and  right,  and 
will  forever  secure  the  existence  of  a  world  in  which  all 
our  children  shall  draw  free  breath  in  full  peace  and  un- 
disturbed pursuit  of  their  labors. 


THE  FLAG   ON  THE  FIRING   LINE 

Theodore  Roosevelt 

I  COME  here  to-night  to  appeal  to  the  people  of  the 
great  west,  the  people  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the 
people  who  are  the  spiritual  heirs  of  the  men  who  stood 
behind  Lincoln  and  Grant. 

You  men  and  women  who  live  beside  the  Great  Lakes 
and  on  the  lands  drained  by  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  Missouri  have  always  represented  what  is  most 
intensely  American  in  our  national  life.  When  once 
waked  up  to  actual  conditions  you  have  always  stood 
with  unfaltering  courage  and  iron  endurance  for  the 
national  honor  and  the  national  interest. 

I  appeal  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  men  and 
women  of  the  Civil  War,  to  the  grandsons  and  grand- 
daughters of  the  pioneers ;  I  appeal  to  the  women  as 
much  as  to  the  men,  for  our  nation  has  risen  level  to  every 
great  crisis  only  because  in  every  such  crisis  the  courage 
of  its  women  flamed  as  high  as  the  courage  of  the  men. 

I  appeal  to  you  to  take  the  lead  in  making  good  the 
President's  message  of  the  2nd  of  this  month,  in  which  he 

Mr.  Roosevelt  delivered  this  speech  to  a  crowd  of  some  thirteen 
thousand  people  at  the  Chicago  Stockyards  Pavilion,  when  he  visited 
that  city  on  April  28,  1917,  in  the  interest  of  the  preparedness  cause. 

Former  President  Roosevelt  was  born  in  New  York,  October  27, 
1858.  After  graduating  from  Harvard,  he  entered  politics  and  was 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1882.  In  1898  he  was  the  popular 
choice  for  governor  in  the  Empire  state.  He  was  elected  to  the  Vice 
Presidency  of  the  United  States  under  McKinley  and  after  his  (Mc- 
Kinley's)  assassination  on  September  14,  1901,  succeeded  to  the  Presi- 
dency.    Mr.  Roosevelt  was  again  made  President  in  1904. 

134 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT  135 

set  forth  the  reasons  why  it  was  our  unescapable  duty  to 
make  war  upon  Germany.  It  rests  with  us  —  with  the 
American  people  —  to  make  that  message  one  of  the 
great  state  documents  of  our  history. 

Let  us  accept  the  lessons  it  teaches.  Let  us  grasp 
what  it  says  as  to  the  frightful  wrongs  Germany  has  com- 
mitted upon  us  and  upon  the  weaker  nations  of  mankind, 
and  the  damage  she  has  wrought  to  the  whole  fabric  of 
civilization  and  of  international  good  faith  and  morality. 

Then  let  us  steel  our  hearts  and  gird  our  loins  to  show 
that  we  are  fit  to  stand  among  the  free  people  whose 
freedom  is  buttressed  by  their  self-reliant  strength.  Let 
us  show  by  our  deeds  that  we  are  fit  to  be  the  heirs  of 
the  men  who  founded  the  republic,  and  of  the  men  who 
saved  the  republic ;  of  the  continentals  who  followed 
Washington,  and  of  the  men  who  wore  the  blue  under 
Grant  and  the  gray  under  Lee. 

But,  mind  you,  the  message,  the  speech,  will  amount 
to  nothing  unless  we  make  it  good ;  and  it  can  be  made 
good  only  by  the  high  valor  of  our  fighting  men,  and  by 
the  resourceful  and  laborious  energy  of  the  men  and 
women  who,  with  deeds,  not  merely  words,  back  up  the 
fighting  men. 

We  read  the  Declaration  of  Independence  every  Fourth 
of  July  because,  and  only  because,  the  soldiers  of  Wash- 
ington made  that  message  good  by  their  blood  during 
the  weary  years  of  war  that  followed.  If,  after  writing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  men  of  '76  had 
failed  with  their  bodies  to  make  it  good,  it  would  be  read 
now  only  with  contempt  and  derision. 

Our  children  still  learn  how  Patrick  Hemy  spoke  for 
the  heart  of  the  American  people  when  he  said,  "Give 
me  liberty  or  give  me  death,"  but  this  generation  is 
thrilled  by  his  words  only  because  the  Americans  of  those 


136  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

days  showed  in  very  fact  that  they  were  ready  to  accept 
death  rather  than  lose  their  Hberty. 

In  Lincoln's  deathless  Gettysburg  speech  and  second 
inaugural  he  solemnly  pledged  the  honor  of  the  American 
people  to  the  hard  and  perilous  task  of  preserving  the 
union  and  freeing  the  slaves. 

The  pledge  was  kept.  The  American  people  fought 
to  a  finish  the  war  which  saved  the  union  and  freed  the 
slave.  If  Lincoln  and  the  men  and  women  behind  him 
had  wavered,  if  they  had  grown  faint-hearted  and  had 
shrunk  from  the  fight,  or  had  merely  paid  others  to  fight 
for  them,  they  would  have  earned  for  themselves  and  for 
us  the  scorn  of  the  nations  of  mankind. 

The  words  of  Lincoln  will  live  forever  only  because 
they  were  made  good  by  the  deeds  of  the  fighting  men. 

So  it  is  now.  We  can  make  the  President's  message 
of  April  2nd  stand  among  the  great  state  papers  in  our  his- 
tory ;  but  we  can  do  so  only  if  we  make  the  message  good  ; 
and  we  can  make  it  good  only  if  we  fight  with  all  our 
strength  now,  at  once ;  if  at  the  earliest  possible  moment 
we  put  the  flag  on  the  firing  line  and  keep  it  there,  over 
a  constantly  growing  army,  until  the  war  closes  by  a 
peace  which  brings  victory  to  the  great  cause  of  democ- 
racy and  civilization,  the  great  cause  of  justice  and  fair 
play  among  the  peoples  of  the  world. 


Theodore  Roosevelt 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  MANKIND 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

We  fight  for  our  own  rights.  We  fight  for  the  rights 
of  mankind.  This  great  struggle  is  fundamentally  a 
struggle  for  the  fundamentals  of  civilization  and  democ- 
racy. The  future  of  the  free  institutions  of  the  world  is 
at  stake.  The  free  people  who  govern  themselves  are 
lined  up  against  the  governments  which  deny  freedom  to 
their  people. 

Our  cause  is  the  cause  of  humanity.  But  we  also  have 
bitter  wrongs  of  our  own  which  it  is  our  duty  to  redress. 
Our  women  and  children  and  unarmed  men,  going  about 
their  peaceful  business,  have  been  murdered  on  the  high 
seas,  not  once,  but  again  and  again  and  again. 

With  brutal  insolence,  after  having  for  well-nigh  two 
years  persevered  in  this  policy,  Germany  has  announced 
that  she  will  continue  it,  at  our  expense  and  at  the  ex- 
pense of  other  neutrals,  more  ruthlessly  than  ever. 

The  injury  thus  done  to  us  as  a  nation  is  as  great  as 
the  injury  done  to  a  man  if  a  ruffian  slaps  his  wife's  face. 
In  such  case,  if  the  man  is  a  man,  he  does  not  wait  and  hire 
somebody  else  to  fight  for  him ;  and  it  would  be  an  evil 
thing,  ''  1'' sting  calamity  to  this  country,  if  the  war  ended, 
and  found  us  merely  preparing  an  army  in  safety  at  home, 
without  having  sent  a  man  to  the  firing  line ;  merely  hav- 
ing paid  some  billions  of  dollars  to  other  people  so  that 
with  the  bodies  of  their  sons  and  brothers  they  might  keep 
us  in  safety. 

From  a  speech  delivered  in  Chicago,  April  28,  1917. 
137 


138  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

I  ask  that  we  send  a  jBghting  force  over  to  the  fighting 
line  at  the  earUest  possible  moment,  and  I  ask  it  in  the 
name  of  our  children  and  our  children's  children,  so  that 
they  may  hold  their  heads  high  over  the  memory  of  what 
this  nation  did  in  the  world's  great  crisis. 

I  ask  it  for  reasons  of  national  morality  no  less  than 
for  our  material  self-interest.  I  ask  it  for  the  sake  of 
our  self-respect,  our  self-esteem. 

Our  children  will  have  to  read  the  history  of  what  we 
have  done  during  this  war.  Let  us  make  the  chapter  that 
yet  remains  to  be  written  one  that  our  cliildren  shall  read 
with  pride ;  and  they  will  read  it  only  with  a  feeling  of 
self-abasement,  unless  they  read  that  in  the  times  that 
tried  men's  souls  we  have  shown  valor  and  endurance 
and  proud  indifference  to  life  when  the  honor  of  the  flag 
and  the  welfare  of  mankind  were  at  stake. 

Put  the  flag  on  the  firing  line,  and  valiant  men  behind 
it ;  and  keep  it  there,  sending  over  a  constantly  growing 
stream  of  valiant  men  to  aid  those  who  have  first  gone. 

In  the  Civil  War  there  were  many  men  who  went  to 
the  front  to  pay  with  their  bodies  for  the  high  faith  of 
their  souls.  There  were  some  men  who  hired  others  to 
go  as  substitutes  to  the  front.  Which  ones  among  these 
men  are  the  ones  to  whom  we  look  back  with  pride  — 
those  who  faced  the  })ullets  or  those  who  paid  with  dol- 
lars to  buy  the  willingness  and  ability  of  other  men  to 
fight?     There  is  no  need  to  answer. 

In  exactly  the  same  way  there  should  be  no  need  to 
answer  now  the  question  as  to  whether  we  are  merely  to 
spend  bilhons  of  dollars  to  help  others  fight,  or  to  stand  in 
the  fighting  line  ourselves. 

By  all  means  spend  the  money.  A  prime  essential  is 
to  furnish  the  AUies  all  the  cargo  ships  they  need  for  food 
and  all  the  craft  they  need  to  help  hunt  down  the  sub- 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT  139 

marines.     By  all  means  aid  them  with  food  and  ships 
and  money,  and  speedily ;  but  do  not  stop  there. 

Show  that  we  can  fight,  as  well  as  furnish  dollars  and 
vegetables  to  fighting  men.  At  the  earhest  possible 
moment  send  an  expeditionary  force  abroad,  show  our 
German  foes  and  our  allied  friends  that  we  are  in  this 
war  in  deadly  earnest,  that  we  have  put  the  flag  on  the 
firing  line,  and  that  we  shall  steadily  increase  the  force 
behind  that  flag  to  any  limit  necessary  in  order  to  bring 
the  peace  of  victory  in  this  great  contest  for  democracy, 
for  civilization,  and  for  the  rights  of  free  peoples. 


AT  THE  TOMB   OF  WASHINGTON 

M.  ViviANi  AND  Mr.  Balfour 

Rene  Viviani 

We  could  not  remain  longer  in  Washington  without 
accomplishing  this  pious  pilgrimage.  In  this  spot  lies 
all  that  is  mortal  of  a  great  hero.  Close  by  this  spot  is 
the  modest  abode  where  Washington  rested  after  the 
tremendous  labor  of  achieving  for  a  nation  its  emanci- 
pation. In  this  spot  meet  the  admiration  of  the  whole 
world  and  the  veneration  of  the  American  people.  In 
this  spot  rise  before  us  the  glorious  memories  left  by  the 
soldiers  of  France,  led  by  Rochambeau  and  Lafayette; 
a  descendant  of  the  latter,  my  friend  M.  Chambrun, 
accompanies  us.  I  esteem  it  an  honor  as  well  as  satisfac- 
tion for  my  conscience  to  be  entitled  to  render  this 
homage  to  our  ancestors  in  the  presence  of  my  colleague 
and  friend,   Mr.  Balfour,  who  so  nobly  represents  his 

On  April  30,  1917,  representatives  of  the  three  great  democracies 
paid  homage  to  America's  soldier  and  statesman  at  the  tomb  of  Wash- 
ington, and  pledged  themselves,  each  to  the  other,  in  the  name  of  the 
dead  to  prosecute  the  present  mighty  struggle  against  autocracy  on  the 
lines  he  himself  had  followed  in  bringing  America  into  being. 

The  British  laid  upon  the  tomb  a  wreath  bearing  the  inscription 
given  at  the  end  of  Mr.  Balfour's    peech. 

A  bronze  palm  such  as  France  gives  to  her  soldier  dead  was  laid  on 
the  tomb  by  French  privates,  and  General  Joffre,  the  hero  of  the  Marne, 
said,  "In  the  French  Army  all  venerate  the  name  and  memory  of  Wash- 
ington. I  respectfully  salute  here  the  great  soldier  and  lay  upon  his 
tomb  the  palm  we  offer  our  soldiers  who  have  died  for  their  country." 

M.  Viviani,  Minister  of  Justice  and  former  premier  of  France,  ad- 
vanced before  the  tomb  and  delivered  this  address. 

140 


RENfi   VIVIANI  141 

great  nation.  By  thus  coming  to  lay  here  the  respectful 
tribute  of  every  Enghsh  inind,  he  shows  in  this  historic 
moment  of  communion,  what  France  has  willed,  what 
nations  that  live  for  liberty  can  do. 

When  we  contemplate  in  the  distant  past  the  luminous 
presence  of  Washington,  in  nearer  times  the  majestic 
figure  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  when  we  respectfully  salute 
President  Wilson,  the  worthy  heir  of  these  great  mem- 
ories, we  at  one  glance  measure  the  vast  career  of  the 
American  people.  It  is  because  the  American  people 
proclaimed  and  won  for  the  nation  the  right  to  govern 
itself;  it  is  because  it  proclaimed  and  won  the  equality 
of  all  men,  that  the  free  American  people  at  the  hour 
marked  by  fate  has  been  enabled  with  commanding  force 
to  carry  its  action  beyond  the  seas ;  it  is  because  it  was 
resolved  to  extend  its  action  still  further  that  Congress 
was  enabled  to  obtain,  within  the  space  of  a  few  days,  the 
vote  of  conscription,  and  to  proclaim  the  necessity  for  a 
national  army  in  the  full  splendor  of  civil  peace. 

In  the  name  of  France,  I  salute  the  young  army  which 
will  share  in  our  common  glory. 

While  paying  this  supreme  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
Washington,  I  do  not  diminish  the  effect  of  my  words 
when  I  turn  my  thoughts  to  the  memory  of  so  many  un- 
named heroes.  I  ask  you  before  this  tomb  to  bow,  in 
earnest  meditation  and  all  the  fervor  of  piety,  before  all 
the  soldiers  of  the  allied  nations  who  for  nearly  three 
years  have  been  fighting  under  different  flags  for  the  same 
ideal.  I  beg  you  to  address  the  homage  of  your  hearts 
and  souls  to  all  the  heroes,  born  to  live  in  happiness,  in 
the  tranquil  pursuit  of  their  labors,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
all  human  affections,  who  went  into  battle  with  virile 
cheerfulness,  and  gave  themselves  up,  not  to  death  alone, 
but  to  the  eternal  silence  that  closes  over  those  whose 


142  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

sacrifice  remains  unnamed,  in  the  full  knowledge  that 
save  for  these  who  loved  them  their  names  would  disap- 
pear with  their  bodies.  Their  monument  is  in  our  hearts. 
Not  the  living  alone  greet  us  here ;  the  ranks  of  the  dead 
themselves  rise  to  surround  the  soldiers  of  liberty. 

At  this  solemn  hour  in  the  history  of  the  world,  while 
saluting  from  this  sacred  mound  the  final  victory  of  jus- 
tice, I  extend  to  the  republic  of  the  United  States  the 
greeting  of  the  French  republic. 

Mr.  Balfour 

M.  Viviani  has  expressed  in  most  eloquent  words  the 
feelings  which  grip  us  all  here  to-day.  He  has  not  only 
paid  a  fitting  tribute  to  a  great  statesman,  but  he  has 
brought  our  thoughts  most  vividly  down  to  the  present. 
The  thousands  who  have  given  their  lives,  French,  Rus- 
sian, Italian,  Belgian,  Serbian,  Montenegrin,  Roumanian, 
Japanese,  and  British,  were  fighting  for  what  they  believed 
to  be  the  cause  of  liberty. 

There  is  no  place  in  the  world  where  a  speech  for  the 
cause  of  liberty  would  be  better  placed  than  here  at  the 
tomb  of  Washington.  But  as  that  work  has  been  so 
adequately  done  by  a  master  of  oratory,  perhaps  you  will 
permit  me  to  read  a  few  words  prepared  by  the  British 
mission  for  the  wreath  we  are  to  leave  here  to-day. 

"Dedicated  by  the  British  mission  to  the  immortal 
memory  of  George  Washington,  soldier,  statesman,  patriot, 
who  would  have  rejoiced  to  see  the  country  of  which  he 
was  by  birth  a  citizen  and  the  country  which  his  genius 
called  into  existence,  fighting  side  by  side  to  save  man- 
kind from  subjection  to  a  military  despotism." 


OUR  HERITAGE  OF  LIBERTY 
Ren6  Viviani 

Since  I  have  been  granted  the  supreme  honor  of  speak- 
ing before  the  representatives  of  the  American  people, 
may  I  ask  them  first  to  allow  me  to  thank  this  magnificent 
Capital  for  the  welcome  it  has  accorded  us  ?  Accustomed 
as  we  are  in  our  own  free  land  to  popular  manifestations, 
and  though  we  had  been  warned  by  your  fellow-country- 
men who  live  in  Paris  of  the  enthusiasm  burning  in  your 
hearts,  we  are  still  full  of  the  emotion  raised  by  the  sights 
that  awaited  us. 

I  shall  never  cease  to  see  the  proud  and  stalwart  men 
who  saluted  our  passage ;  your  women,  whose  grace 
adds  fresh  beauty  to  your  city,  their  arms  outstretched, 
full  of  flowers ;  and  your  children  hurrying  to  meet  us  as 
if  our  coming  were  looked  upon  as  a  lesson  for  them  — 
all  with  one  accord  acclaiming  in  our  perishable  persons 
immortal  France. 

And  I  predict  there  will  be  a  yet  grander  manifestation 
on  the  day  when  your  illustrious  President,  relieved  from 
the  burden  of  power,  will  come  among  us  bearing  the 
salute  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  to  a  free 
Europe,  whose  foundations  from  end  to  end  shall  be 
based  on  right. 

It  is  with  unspeakable  emotion  that  we  crossed  the 
threshold  of  this  legislative  palace,  where  prudence  and 

This  address  was  given  before  the  United  States  Senate  on  May  1, 
1917. 

143 


144  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

boldness  meet,  and  that  I  address  j^ou,  the  first  foreigner 
in  the  annals  of  America  to  speak  in  this  hall  which  only  a 
few  days  since  resounded  with  the  words  of  virile  force. 

You  have  set  all  the  democracies  of  the  world  the 
most  magnificent  example.  So  soon  as  the  common 
peril  was  made  manifest  to  you,  with  simplicity  and 
within  a  few  short  days  you  voted  a  formidable  war  credit 
and  proclaimed  that  a  formidable  army  was  to  be  raised. 
President  Wilson's  commentary  on  his  acts,  which  you 
made  yours,  remains  in  the  history  of  free  peoples  the 
weightiest  of  lessons. 

Doubtless  you  were  resolved  to  avenge  the  insults 
offered  your  flag,  which  the  whole  world  respected ; 
doubtless  through  the  thickness  of  these  massive  walls 
the  mournful  cry  of  all  the  victims  that  criminal  hands 
hurled  into  the  depths  of  the  sea  has  reached  and  stirred 
your  souls ;  but  it  will  be  your  honor  in  history  that  you 
also  heard  the  cry  of  humanity  and  invoked  against 
autocracy  the  right  of  democracies. 

And  I  can  only  wonder  as  I  speak  what,  if  they  still 
have  any  power  to  think,  are  the  thoughts  of  the  auto- 
crats who  three  years  ago  against  us,  three  months  ago 
against  you,  unchained  this  conflict. 

Ah !  doubtless  they  said  among  themselves  that  a 
democracy  is  an  ideal  government;  that  it  showers  re- 
forms on  mankind ;  that  it  can  in  the  domain  of  labor 
quicken  all  economic  activities,  but  that  it  cannot  make 
war.  And  yet  now  we  see  the  French  Republic  fighting 
in  defense  of  its  territory  and  the  liberty  of  nations  and 
opposing  to  the  avalanche  let  loose  by  Prussian  militarism 
the  union  of  all  its  children,  who  are  still  capable  of  strik- 
ing many  a  weighty  blow. 

And  now  we  see  England,  far  removed  like  you  from 
conscription,  who  has  also,  by  virtue  of  a  discipline  all 


RENfi   VIVIANI  145 

accept,  raised  from  her  soil  millions  of  fighting  men. 
And  we  see  other  nations  accomplishing  the  same  act; 
and  that  liberty  not  only  inflames  all  hearts,  but  co- 
ordinates and  brings  into  being  all  needed  efforts. 

And  now  we  see  all  America  rise  in  the  midst  of  peace 
and  sharpen  her  weapons  for  the  common  struggle. 

Together  we  will  carry  on  that  struggle,  and  when 
by  force  we  have  at  last  imposed  military  victory,  our 
labors  will  not  be  concluded.  Our  task  will  be  —  I 
quote  the  noble  words  of  President  Wilson  —  to  organize 
the  society  of  nations. 

I  well  know  that  our  enemies,  who  have  never  seen 
before  them  anything  but  horizons  of  carnage,  will  never 
cease  to  jeer  at  so  noble  a  design.  Such  has  always  been 
the  fate  of  great  ideas  at  their  birth ;  and  if  thinkers  and 
men  of  action  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  discouraged 
by  skeptics,  mankind  would  still  be  in  its  infancy  and  we 
should  still  be  slaves.  After  material  victory  we  will 
win  this  moral  victory. 

We  will  shatter  the  ponderous  sword  of  militarism; 
we  will  establish  guaranties  for  peace;  and  then  we  can 
disappear  from  the  world's  stage,  since  we  shall  leave,  at 
the  cost  of  our  common  sacrifice,  the  noblest  heritage 
future  generations  can  possess. 


THE  OLDEST   FREE  ASSEMBLIES 
Arthur  James  Balfour 

Will  you  permit  me  on  behalf  of  my  friends  and  myself 
to  offer  you  my  deepest  and  sincerest  thanks  for  the  rare 
and  valued  honor  which  you  have  done  us  by  receiving 
us  here  to-day?  We  all  feel  the  greatness  of  the  honor, 
but  I  think  to  none  of  us  can  it  come  home  so  closely  as 
to  one  who,  like  myself,  has  been  for  forty-three  years 
in  the  service  of  a  free  assembly  like  your  own. 

I  rejoice  to  think  that  a  member,  a  very  old  member, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  of  the  British  House  of  Commons  has 
been  received  here  to-day  by  this  great  sister  assembly 
with  such  kindness  as  you  have  shown  to  me  and  to  my 
friends. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  these  two  assembhes  are  the 
greatest  and  the  oldest  of  the  free  assemblies  now  govern- 
On  May  5,  1917,  the  "House  of  Representatives  was  the  scene  of  a 
great  outbreak  of  patriotism  and  enthusiasm."  For  the  first  time  in 
American  history  a  British  official  spoke  in  the  House.  The  President 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  pres- 
ent, an  additional  mark  of  courtesy  to  the  speaker. 

The  Risht  Honorable  Arthur  James  Balfour  was  born  in  Scotland, 
July  25,  1848.  He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  and  holds  honorary 
degrees  from  ten  or  more  great  universities  on  the  Continent.  He 
became  a  member  of  Parliament  in  1874  and  held  the  Prime  Minister's 
portfolio  from  1902  to  1905. 

In  April,  1917,  he  was  nominated  to  head  the  British  Mission  to  the 
United  States,  with  the  object  of  establishing  greater  cooperation  be- 
tween the  two  countries  in  the  prosecution  of  their  war  against  Ger- 
many. At  the  time  of  his  visit  to  America  Mr.  Balfour  waa  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs. 

146 


Arthur  j-   Balfour  and  Joseph  H.  Choate 


ARTHUR  JAMES  BALFOUR  147 

ing  great  nations  in  the  world.  The  history  of  the  two  is 
very  different.  The  beginnings  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons  go  back  to  a  dim  historic  past  and  its  full  rights 
and  status  have  only  been  conquered  and  permanently 
secured  after  centuries  of  political  struggle. 

Your  fate  has  been  a  happier  one.  You  were  called 
into  existence  at  a  much  later  stage  of  social  development. 
You  came  into  being  complete  and  perfected,  and  all  your 
powers  determined  and  your  place  in  the  constitution 
secured  beyond  chance  of  revolution;  but,  though  the 
history  of  these  two  great  assemblies  is  different,  each  of 
them  represents  the  great  democratic  principle  to  which 
we  look  forward  as  the  security  for  the  future  peace  of 
the  world. 

All  of  the  free  assemblies  now  to  be  found  governing 
the  great  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  modeled  either 
upon  your  practice  or  upon  ours  or  upon  both  combined. 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  compliment  paid  to  the  mission  from 
Great  Britain  by  such  an  assembly  and  upon  such  an 
occasion  is  one  not  one  of  us  is  ever  likely  to  forget ;  but 
there  is  something,  after  all,  even  deeper  and  more  sig- 
nificant in  the  circumstances  under  which  I  now  have 
the  honor  to  address  you  than  any  which  arise  out  of  the 
interchange  of  courtesies,  however  sincere,  between  two 
great  and  friendly  nations. 

We  all,  I  think,  feel  instinctively  that  this  is  one  of  the 
great  moments  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  that  what 
is  happening  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  represents  the 
drawing  together  of  great  and  free  peoples  for  mutual 
protection  against  the  aggression  of  military  despotism. 

I  am  not  one  of  those  —  none  of  you  are  among  those 
—  who  are  such  bad  democrats  as  to  say  that  democracies 
make  no  mistakes.  All  free  assemblies  have  made  blun- 
ders;   sometimes  they  have  committed  crimes.     Why  is 


148  THE    J^ORUM    OF    DEMOCRACY 

it  then  that  we  look  forward  to  the  spirit  of  free  institu- 
tions, and  especially  among  our  present  enemies,  as 
one  of  the  greatest  guarantees  of  the  future  peace  of  the 
world  ?     I  will  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  how  it  seems  to  me. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  people  and  the  representatives 
of  the  people  may  be  betrayed  by  some  momentary  gust 
of  passion  into  a  policy  which  they  ultimately  deplore, 
but  it  is  only  a  military  despotism  of  the  German  type 
that  can,  through  generations,  if  need  be,  pursue  steadily, 
remorselessly,  unscrupulously,  and  appallingly  the  object 
of  dominating  the  civilization  of  mankind. 

And,  mark  you,  this  evil,  this  menace  under  which  we 
are  now  suffering  is  not  one  which  diminishes  with  the 
growth  of  knowledge  and  progress  of  material  civiliza- 
tion, but  on  the  contrary  it  increases  with  them. 

When  I  was  young,  we  used  to  flatter  ourselves  that 
progress  inevitably  meant  peace,  and  that  growth  of 
knowledge  was  always  accompanied  as  its  natural  fruit 
by  the  growth  of  good  will  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Unhappily  we  know  better  now,  and  we  know 
there  is  such  a  thing  in  the  world  as  a  power  which  can, 
with  unvarying  persistence,  focus  all  the  resources  of 
knowledge  and  of  civilization  into  the  one  great  task  of 
making  itself  the  moral  and  material  master  of  the  world. 

It  is  against  that  danger  that  we,  the  free  peoples  of 
western  civilization,  have  banded  ourselves  together. 

It  is  in  that  great  cause  that  we  are  going  to  fight  and 
are  fighting  at  this  very  moment  side  by  side.  In  that 
cause  we  shall  surely  conquer ;  and  our  children  will  look 
back  to  this  fateful  date  as  the  one  from  which  democ- 
racies can  feel  secure  that  their  progress,  their  civiliza- 
tion, their  rivalry,  if  need  be,  will  be  conducted,  not  on 
German  lines,  but  in  the  friendly  and  Christian  spirit 
which  really  befits  the  age  in  which  we  live. 


ARTHUR  JAMES   BALFOUR  149 

Mr.  Speaker,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  beg  most  sin- 
cerely to  repeat  again  how  heartily  I  thank  you  for  the 
cordial  welcome  which  you  have  given  us  to-day,  and  to 
repeat  my  profound  sense  of  the  significance  of  this 
unique  meeting. 


CHAMPIONS   OF  LIBERTY 

Prince  Udine 

the  vice  president 

Senators,  it  will  perhaps  rejoice  you  hereafter  to  re- 
member that  within  a  very  few  days  you  have  had  the 
honor  and  pleasure  of  participating  in  three  great  historic 
scenes.  For  myself,  I  may  say  that  I  am  very  glad  the 
distinguished  visitors  and  myself  both  belong  to  posterity 
rather  than  to  ancestry,  for  I  have  a  historic  recollection 
that  some  1900  years  ago  the  ancestors  of  these  distin- 
guished gentlemen  were  pursuing  through  the  islands 
of  Britain  my  ancestors,  clad  in  sheepskin. 

I  am  glad  that  I  have  lived  in  a  time  when  the  eagles 
of  the  Senate  and  people  of  Rome  come  in  peace  to  visit 
the  American  eagle  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
(Applause.) 

History  sometimes  reverses  itself  and  sometimes 
repeats  itself.  When  Rome  stood  exclusively  for  power 
and  sought  to  bring  the  habitable  globe  under  her  control, 
she  never  quite  succeeded  in  conquering  the  Belgian 
people.  Nineteen  hundred  years  after  that  failure  the 
Roman  people  have  concluded  that  what  Rome  as  the 
representative  of  power  could  not  do,  no  other  represen- 
tative of  power  shall  ever  be  permitted  to  do.     (Applause.) 

History  repeats  itself  in  another  instance.     When  I 

Given  at  the  reception  of  the  Italian  Commission  in  the  United 
States  Senate  on  May  31,  1917.  Mr.  Marshall's  speech  is  given  as  a 
happy  introduction. 

150 


PRINCE    UDINE  151 

was  trying  to  ascertain  the  history  of  this  great  people, 
digging  it  out  of  the  original,  I  learned,  as  I  pronounce 
it  in  the  Hoosier  vulgate,  that  one  of  the  great  Romans 
closed  each  of  his  addresses  in  the  Roman  Senate  with 
this  remarkable  statement:  "Ceterum  censeo  Cartha- 
ginem  esse  delendam."  History,  I  hope,  again  repeats 
itself  in  that  the  people  of  the  seven-hilled  city  beside  the 
yellow  Tiber  have  resolved  that  for  themselves  and  for 
humanity  the  house  of  Hapsburg  must  be  destroyed. 
(Loud  applause.) 

It  is  my  honor  and  my  pleasure  to  present  to  you  the 
representative  of  the  people  of  Italy,  the  Prince  of  Udine. 
(Loud  applause.) 

ADDRESS   BY   PRINCE  UDINE 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Senate,  I  consider 
it  a  great  honor  for  the  mission  of  His  Majesty,  the  King 
of  Italy,  to  be  welcomed  by  the  American  Senate;  it  is 
also  a  great  honor  for  me,  and  a  source  of  deep  satisfaction, 
to  greet  you  on  behalf  of  my  country  and  to  speak  in 
this  glorious  assembly,  which  has  never  forgotten  the 
noble  traditions  of  democracy  and  the  principles  of 
liberty,  in  the  name  of  which  it  was  constituted. 

In  this  hour  of  danger,  in  which  military  absolutism  is 
threatening  every  one,  there  are  nations  that  have  for- 
gotten old  and  new  rivalries,  and  have  united  to  de- 
feat this  menace  to  the  common  safety.  We  are  in  a 
more  fortunate  position.  Between  the  United  States  of 
America  and  Italy  there  has  never  been  any  cause  of 
conflict.  Therefore,  in  your  history  and  in  ours  there  is 
no  page  which  should  be  forgotten  in  this  hour  of  brother- 
hood. In  our  present  alliance  we  need  not  forget  any 
war,  nor  any  rivalry,  nor  any  strife.     If  nothing  brings 


152  THE    FORUM    OF    DEMOCRACY 

men  closer  together  than  to  fight  for  the  same  ideals, 
and  to  face  the  sufferings  and  the  dangers  of  a  great 
war  for  the  cause  of  justice  and  of  humanity,  we  must 
acknowledge  that  this  new  and  closer  union  means  for 
us  a  greater  bond  of  sympathy  and  solidarity  in  addition 
to  those  which  already  linked  us. 

This  long  friendship  without  strife,  this  union  without 
mistrust,  this  cloudless  future,  are  enhanced  by  the  fact 
that  both  our  peoples  are  at  war,  not  because  of  any 
imminent  danger  that  threatened  us,  but  to  defend  the 
same  ideals  of  humanity  and  justice.     (Applause.) 

Your  wars  have  been  fought  for  independence  and  for 
liberty,  and  your  heroes  have  been  men  such  as  George 
Washington,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  Abraham  Lincoln 
—  human  heroes,  shining  lights  of  the  intellect,  who 
looked  with  a  kindly  heart  even  upon  their  adversaries. 
(Applause.) 

We,  too,  after  having  suffered  greatly  at  the  hands  of 
foreign  oppressors,  have  won  liberty  and  independence ; 
and  our  heroes,  the  men  who  gathered  around  Victor 
Emmanuel  II,  and  gave  Italy  unity  and  freedom,  were 
men  such  as  Cavour,  Garibaldi,  Mazzini,  champions  of 
idealism,  men  who  belonged  to  humanity  rather  than  to 
their  own  country,  pure  glories  of  the  world's  democracy. 
(Applause.) 

Italy,  gentlemen  of  the  Senate,  entered  into  the  war 
with  aims  equal  to  those  which  you  pursue.  Her  terri- 
tory had  not  been  invaded,  her  insecure  boundaries  had 
not  been  violated.  Our  people  understood  that  the  sacri- 
fice of  free  nations  was  the  prelude  to  their  own  sacrifice, 
and  that  we  could  not  remain  indifferent  without  denying 
the  very  reasons  of  our  existence.     (Applause.) 

Italy  has  suffered  more  than  any  other  nation  in 
Europe  the  horror  of  foreign  domination,  the  martyrdom 


PRINCE    UDlNfi  153 

of  invasion  and  pillage ;  and,  therefore,  she  will  never  for- 
get the  principles  which  presided  over  her  birth  and 
which  constitute  her  strength  and  her  defense. 

Italy  wants  the  safety  of  her  boundaries  and  her  coasts, 
and  she  wants  to  secure  herself  against  new  aggressions. 
Italy  wants  to  deliver  from  long-standing  martyrdom 
populations  of  Italian  race  and  language  that  have  been 
persecuted  implacably,  and  are  nevertheless  prouder  than 
ever  of  their  Italian  nationality.     (Applause.) 

But  Italy  has  not  been  and  never  will  be  an  element  of 
discord  in  Europe ;  and  as  she  willed  her  own  free  national 
existence  at  the  cost  of  any  sacrifice,  so  she  will  con- 
tribute with  all  her  strength  to  the  free  existence  and 
development  of  other  nations. 

The  mission  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  the  head, 
and  in  which  there  are  representatives  of  the  Senate  of 
the  Kingdom,  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  members 
of  the  Government,  desires  to  express  through  me  the 
liveliest  sympathy  to  the  representatives  of  the  American 
people.     (Applause.) 

The  message  of  your  President,  as  our  sovereign  has 
said,  is  worthy,  by  the  nobility  of  its  conceptions  and  the 
dignity  of  its  form,  to  rank  with  the  most  inspiring  pages 
in  the  history  of  ancient  and  immortal  Rome.  (Applause.) 
It  was  greeted  with  the  enthusiasm  of  faith  when  it  made 
clear  the  objects  of  the  war  and  defined  the  aims  of 
American  action.  Our  soldiers,  at  the  foot  of  the  snowy 
Alps,  amid  the  atrocious  life  of  underground  trenches ; 
our  sailors,  defying  the  treacherous  warfare  of  the  sub- 
marines ;  the  populations  of  France  and  of  Belgium, 
suffering  under  the  most  cruel  servitude,  could  not  read 
it  without  a  profound  emotion. 

By  proclaiming  that  right  is  more  precious  than  peace ; 
that  autocratic  governments,  supported  by  the  force  of 


154  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

arms,  are  a  menace  to  civilization ;  by  affirming  the 
necessity  of  guaranteeing  the  safety  of  the  world's  democ- 
racies ;  by  proclaiming  the  right  of  small  nations  to  live 
and  to  prosper,  America  has  now,  through  the  action  of 
her  President,  acquired  a  title  of  merit  which  history  will 
never  forget.     (Applause.) 


LIBERTY  OR  DEATH 

Baron  Moncheur 

the  vice  president 

Senators,  since  that  far-off,  unrecorded  hour  when 
our  ancestors  began  their  slow  westward  movement,  un- 
numbered and  unremembered,  thousands  have  died  upon 
the  field  of  battle  for  love,  for  hate,  for  liberty,  for  con- 
quest, as  freemen  or  as  slaves.  Every  note  in  the  gamut 
of  human  passion  has  been  written  in  the  anvil  chorus  of 
war.  Many  have  struck  the  redeeming  blow  for  their 
own  country,  but  few  have  unsheathed  their  swords  with- 
out the  hope  of  self-aggrandizement.  It  remained  for 
little  Belgium  to  write  in  the  blood  of  her  martyred  sons 
and  daughters  a  new  page  in  the  annals  of  diplomacy, 
to  inscribe  thereon  that  the  dishonor  of  a  people  is  the  ag- 
gregate of  the  selfishness  of  its  citizens ;  that  the  honor 
of  a  people  is  the  aggregate  of  the  self-sacrifice  of  its  citi- 
zens ;  that  treaties  are  made  to  be  kept,  not  broken ; 
that  a  people  may  dare  to  walk  through  "the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,"  touching  elbows  with  their  convic- 
tions, but  that  they  dare  not  climb  to  the  mountain  tops 
of  safety  if  thereby  they  walk  over  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  high  ideals ;  that  a  people  may  safely  die  if  thereby 
they  can  compel  an  unwilling  world  to  toss  upon  their 
new-made  graves  the  white  lUy  of  a  blameless  life. 

Given  at  the  reception  of  the  Belgian  Commission  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  June  22,  1917.  Mr.  Marshall's  introductory  remarks 
are  especially  graceful. 

155 


156  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

Here,  Senators,  ends  all  I  know,  and  here  begins  what 
I  believe :  Belgium  shall  arise.  The  long  night  of  her 
weeping  shall  end ;  the  morning  of  a  day  of  joy  shall 
break  over  her  desolated  homes,  her  devastated  fields, 
and  her  profaned  altars.  When  it  breaks,  humanity 
will  learn  that  when  mankind  gambles  with  truth  and 
honor  and  humanity,  the  dice  of  the  gods  are  always 
loaded.     (Applause.) 

To  me,  in  all  profane  history,  there  is  no  sadder,  sweeter, 
sublimer  character  than  Sidney  Carton.  Dreamer  of 
dreams,  he  walked  his  lonely,  only  way.  In  all  the  his- 
tory of  nations  there  is  no  sadder,  sweeter,  sublimer  story 
than  the  story  of  Belgium.  Doer  of  deeds,  she,  too,  has 
walked  her  lonely,  only  way  —  the  via  dolorosa  that 
leads  to  duty,  death,  and  glory.  Out  of  the  depths  and 
across  the  deeps  the  representatives  of  the  remnant  of 
her  people  and  the  guardians  of  her  honor  have  come  to  us 
this  day. 

I  present  to  you  the  chairman  of  that  mission,  Baron 
Moncheur.     (Applause.) 

ADDRESS  BY  BARON  MONCHEUR 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Senate,  when 
some  years  ago  I  had  the  honor  of  representing  the  Gov- 
ernment of  my  King  in  the  United  States,  I  often  came 
to  the  Senate,  where  I  listened  with  deep  interest  to  the 
debates  of  your  distinguished  body.  In  those  times  I 
never  thought  that  some  day  it  would  be  my  privilege 
to  speak  from  this  historic  tribune. 

When  the  Vice  President  was  kind  enough  to  ask  me 
to  address  the  Senate,  I  admit  that  at  first  I  hesitated 
to  accept  his  gracious  invitation. 

How  should  I  dare  to  speak  in  this  Chamber,  which  has 
resounded  to  the  eloquence  and  wisdom  of  so  many  dis- 


BARON    MONCHEUR  157 

tinguished  statesmen  whose  utterances  from  this  tribune 
have  changed  the  history  of  the  world  ? 

How  should  I  venture  to  address  this  body  to  which 
the  distinction,  the  talent,  and  the  wisdom  of  its  mem- 
bers have  given  a  unique  place  among  the  legislative 
assemblies  of  the  world? 

If,  gentlemen,  I  have  finally  succeeded  in  overcoming 
this  natural  hesitation,  it  is  only  because  of  my  great 
desire  to  express,  as  well  as  my  words  will  permit,  the 
gratitude  and  admiration  which  the  whole  Belgian  nation 
feels  toward  the  American  people  and  toward  their 
Government. 

You  all  know  the  unspeakable  evils  which  have  be- 
fallen my  unfortunate  country — the  unprovoked  invasion 
accompanied  by  a  deliberate  system  of  terror,  the  burn- 
ing of  many  of  our  thriving  cities  and  of  innumerable 
villages,  the  massacre  of  thousands  of  our  peaceful  citi- 
zens, the  pillage  and  devastation  of  our  country. 

Then  followed  the  iron  hand  of  foreign  domination, 
enormous  war  contributions  exacted  from  ril  the  nine 
Provinces  of  Belgium,  ruinous  requisitions  of  all  sorts 
from  our  people,  the  seizure  of  the  raw  material  of  indus- 
try, and  even  the  theft  of  our  machinery  which  was  sent 
into  the  country  of  our  enemy  for  his  own  use,  so  that 
now  the  silence  of  death  reigns  in  our  industrial  centers 
which  before  had  been  the  most  active  in  Europe. 

You  also  know,  gentlemen,  the  way  in  which  this 
regime  of  oppression  has  been  carried  out  —  eighty 
thousand  Belgians  condemned,  in  one  year,  to  various 
penalties  for  having  displeased  the  invader;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  noble  burgomaster  of  Brussels,  who  has  been 
in  imprisonment  for  the  past  two  years  for  trying  to  up- 
hold the  principle  of  civic  liberty  which  for  centuries  has 
been  so  dear  to  all  Belgians. 


158  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

You  have  learned  also  of  the  deportation  of  our  work- 
men into  Germany  —  a  crime  the  horrors  of  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  opinion  of  one  of  your  countrymen,  should 
cause  more  indignation  throughout  the  entire  world 
than  all  the  previous  outrages  against  the  sacred  princi- 
ples of  justice  and  of  humanity. 

But  Belgium,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  misfor- 
tunes which  have  been  brought  upon  her  by  her  fidelity 
to  treaties  and  by  respect  for  her  plighted  word,  does  not 
regret  her  decision,  and  there  is  not  a  single  Belgian  worthy 
of  the  name  who  does  not  now,  as  on  the  first  day  of  war, 
approve  the  judgment  of  our  Government  that  it  is  better 
to  die,  if  need  be,  rather  than  to  live  without  honor. 
Like  Patrick  Henry,  all  Belgians  say,  "Give  me  liberty 
or  give  me  death."     (Applause.) 

This  sentiment  will  be  shared  bj'-  all  the  citizens  of  the 
great  American  Nation,  who  responded  with  such  enthu- 
siasm and  with  such  unanimity  to  the  noble  words  of 
your  President  when,  in  terms  which  held  the  world 
spellbound,  he  proclaimed  the  imprescriptible  right  of 
justice  over  force. 

The  courage  of  my  fellow-countrymen  has  been  strength- 
ened, also,  by  the  sympathy  for  our  misfortunes  which 
has  been  manifested  throughout  your  great  land.  Ameri- 
can initiative  has  bestowed  most  generous  help  upon 
our  starving  population,  and,  in  offering  from  this  trib- 
une the  expression  of  gratitude  of  every  Belgian  heart, 
I  wish  also  to  render  special  homage  to  that  admirable 
organization,  the  commission  for  relief  in  Belgium,  which 
has  done  so  much  to  save  our  people  from  starvation. 
(Applause.) 

Yes,  gentlemen,  the  sympathy  of  America  gives  us 
new  courage ;  and  while  King  Albert,  who  since  the 
fateful  dsij  when  our  territory  was  violated,  has  remained 


BARON    MONCHEUR  159 

steadfastly  at  the  front,  continues  the  struggle  with  in- 
domitable energy  at  the  head  of  our  army  intrenched  upon 
the  last  strip  of  our  soil  that  remains  to  us ;  while  the  Queen, 
that  worthy  companion  of  a  great  sovereign,  expends 
her  unceasing  efforts  to  comfort  and  relieve  the  victims 
of  battle,  exciting  enthusiasm  by  her  contempt  for  the 
danger  to  which  she  exposes  herself  day  by  day ;  on  the 
other  side  of  the  enemy's  line  of  steel  stands  the  Belgian 
people,  bowed  beneath  the  yoke  but  never  conquered, 
maintaining  its  unshaken  patriotism  in  spite  of  the  seduc- 
tions of  the  enemy  as  well  as  in  spite  of  his  iron  rule ; 
the  Belgian  people,  a  martyr  whose  courage  is  upheld  by 
our  great  Cardinal  Mercier,  awaits  silently  in  the  sacred 
union  of  all  parties  the  final  hour  of  deliverance.  (Great 
applause.) 

That  hour,  gentlemen,  will,  I  am  convinced,  be  mate- 
rially hastened  by  the  powerful  aid  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  time  approaches  when  Belgium,  restored  to  full 
and  complete  independence,  both  politically  and  eco- 
nomically, will  be  able  to  thank  in  a  fitting  manner  all 
those  who  have  aided  her  to  emerge  from  the  darkness  of 
the  tomb  into  the  glorious  light  of  a  new  life.  (Prolonged 
applause.) 


SLAVES   OR  FREEMEN? 
Alexander  Kerenskt 

Two  months  have  elapsed  since  the  birth  of  Russian 
freedom.  I  did  not  come  here  in  order  to  greet  you. 
Our  greetings  have  been  dispatched  to  your  trenches 
long  since.  Your  pains  and  your  sufferings  were  one  of 
the  motives  that  precipitated  the  revolution.  We  could 
no  longer  endure  the  imbecile  lavishness  with  which 
the  old  order  spilled  your  blood.  I  believed  throughout 
the  two  months  that  the  only  power  which  could  save 
our  country  and  lead  her  on  the  right  path  was  the  con- 
sciousness of  responsibility  for  every  word  and  every  act 
of  ours  —  a  responsibility  resting  on  every  one  of  us. 
This  behef  I  still  hold. 

Comrades,  soldiers  and  officers,  I  well  know  what  your 
feelings  are  there  in  the  trenches,  but  I  also  know  what 
i^  going  on  here.  Possibly  the  time  is  near  when  we  shall 
have  to  say  to  you,  "We  cannot  give  you  all  the  bread 
which  you  have  a  right  to  expect  of  us  and  all  the  ammu- 
nition on  which  you  have  a  right  to  depend";  but  this 
will  come  about  through  no  fault  of  those  who  two  months 
ago  assumed  before  the  tribunal  of  history  and  the  whole 
world  the  formal  and  official  responsibility  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  our  country. 

Spoken  in  May,  1917,  to  the  representatives  of  the  soldiers  who 
came  from  the  front  to  Petrograd.  Kerensky,  called  Russia's  "Man  of 
the  Hour,"  undertook  for  months  the  superhuman  task  of  reconciling 
the  discordant  elements  in  "free  Russia." 

160 


Alexander  Kerensky 


ALEXANDER    KERENSKY  161 

The  situation  of  Russia  at  present  is  complex  and 
difficult.  The  process  of  transformation  from  slavery 
to  liberty  does  not,  of  course,  assume  the  form  of  a  pa- 
rade. It  is  a  difficult  and  painful  work,  full  of  misconcep- 
tions, mutual  misunderstandings,  which  prepare  a  field 
for  cowardice  and  bad  faith,  turning  free  citizens  into 
human  dust. 

The  time  of  isolated  countries  is  past.  The  world  has 
long  since  become  one  family,  which  is  frequently  torn 
asunder  by  internal  struggles,  but  which  is  nevertheless 
bound  together  by  strong  ties  — social,  economic,  and 
cultural. 

Should  we,  as  contemptible  slaves,  fail  to  organize 
into  a  strong  nation,  then  a  dark,  sanguine  period  of 
internal  strife  will  surely  come,  and  our  ideals  will  be 
cast  under  the  heels  of  that  despotic  rule  which  holds 
that  might  is  right  and  not  that  right  is  might.  Every 
one  of  us,  from  the  soldier  to  the  minister,  and  from  the 
minister  to  the  soldier,  can  do  whatever  he  pleases,  but 
he  must  do  it  with  eyes  wide  open,  placing  his  devotion 
to  the  common  ideal  above  all  else. 

Comrades,  for  years  we  have  suffered  in  silence  and 
were  forced  to  fulfill  duties  imposed  upon  us  by  the  old 
hateful  might.  You  were  able  to  fire  on  the  people  when 
the  government  demanded  that  of  you.  And  how  do  we 
stand  now  ?  Now  we  can  no  longer  hold  out !  What  does 
it  mean?  Does  it  mean  that  free  Russia  is  a  nation  of 
rebellious  slaves?     (Uneasiness  all  over  the  hall.) 

Comrades,  I  can't  —  I  don't  know  how  I  can  tell  the 
people  untruths  and  conceal  from  them  the  truth! 

I  came  to  you  because  my  strength  was  giving  way, 
because  I  am  no  longer  conscious  of  my  previous  courage. 
I  no  longer  have  the  confidence  that  we  are  facing  not 
rebelhoug  slaves,  but  conscious  citizens  engaged  in  the 


162  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

creation  of  a  new  Russia  and  going  about  their  work 
with  an  enthusiasm  worthy  of  the  Russian  people. 

They  tell  us  that  the  front  is  no  longer  a  necessity; 
fraternizing  is  going  on  there.  Do  they  fraternize  on 
the  French  front?  No,  comrades.  If  we  fraternize, 
then  why  not  fraternize  on  both  sides?  Have  not  the 
forces  of  our  adversary  been  transported  to  the  Anglo- 
French  front?  And  has  not  the  Anglo-French  offensive 
been  already  halted?  As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  Russian  front;  there  is  but  one 
front,  and  that  is  an  Allied  front. 

We  are  marching  toward  peace,  and  I  should  not  be  a 
member  of  the  Provisional  Government  were  it  to  dis- 
regard the  will  of  the  people  as  far  as  ending  the  war 
goes;  but  there  are  roads  wide  open  and  there  are  nar- 
row, dark  alleys,  a  stroll  through  which  might  cause  one 
to  lose  both  his  life  and  honor.  We  want  to  hasten  the 
end  of  this  fratricidal  war ;  but  to  this  end  we  must  march 
across  the  straight  open  road. 

We  are  not  an  assembly  of  tired  people;  we  are  a 
nation.  There  are  paths.  They  are  long  and  complex. 
We  are  in  need  of  an  enormous  amount  of  perseverance 
and  calm.  If  we  propose  new  war  aims,  then  it  behooves 
us  to  conduct  ourselves  so  as  to  command  the  respect 
of  both  friend  and  foe.     No  one  respects  a  weakling. 

I  regret  that  I  did  not  die  two  months  ago.  I  would 
have  died  then  happy  with  the  dream  that  a  new  life 
had  been  kindled  in  Russia ;  hopeful  of  a  time  when  we 
could  respect  each  other  without  resorting  to  the  knout ; 
hopeful  that  we  could  rule  our  Empire,  but  not  as  it  was 
ruled  by  our  former  despots. 

This  is  all,  comrades,  that  I  care  to  say.  It  is,  of 
course,  possible  that  I  am  mistaken.  The  diagnosis 
that  I  have  made  may  turn  out  to  be  mcorrect,  but  I 


ALEXANDER    KERENSKY  163 

think  I  am  not  so  much  in  error  as  would  appear  to  others. 
My  diagnosis  is :  If  we  do  not  immediately  realize  the 
tragedy  and  hopelessness  of  the  situation ;  if  we  do  not 
concede  that  the  immediate  responsibility  rests  on  all ; 
if  our  political  organism  will  not  work  as  smoothly  as  a 
well-oiled  mechanism,  then  all  that  we  dreamed  of,  all 
to  which  we  are  striving,  will  be  cast  years  back  and 
possibly  drowned  in  blood.  I  want  to  believe  that  we 
will  find  the  solution  for  our  problems,  and  that  we  will 
march  forward  along  the  bright  and  open  road  of  democ- 
racy. 

The  moment  has  come  when  every  one  must  search 
the  depths  of  his  conscience  in  order  to  realize  whither 
he  himself  is  going  and  whither  he  is  leading  those  who, 
through  the  fault  of  the  old  government  which  held  the 
people  in  darkness,  regard  every  printed  word  as  law.  It 
is  not  diflEicult  to  play  with  this  element,  but  the  game  is 
apt  to  be  overplayed. 

I  came  here  because  I  believed  in  my  right  to  tell  the 
truth  as  I  understand  it.  People  who  even  under  the 
old  regime  went  about  their  work  openly  and  without 
fear  of  death,  those  people,  I  say,  will  not  be  terrorized. 
The  fate  of  our  country  is  in  our  hands.  The  country  is 
in  great  danger.  We  have  sipped  of  the  cup  of  liberty 
and  we  are  somewhat  intoxicated.  But  we  are  not  in 
need  of  intoxication;  we  are  in  need  of  the  greatest 
possible  sobriety  and  discipline.  We  must  enter  history 
so  that  they  may  write  on  our  graves:  "They  died,  but 
they  were  never  slaves." 


AMERICA    GREETS    THE    RUSSIAN    REPUBLIC 

WooDROw  Wilson 

We  are  fighting  for  the  Hberty,  the  self-government, 
and  the  undictated  development  of  all  peoples,  and  every 
feature  of  the  settlement  that  concludes  this  war  must  be 
conceived  and  executed  for  that  purpose.  Wrongs  must 
first  be  righted  and  then  adequate  safeguards  must  be 
created  to  prevent  their  being  committed  again.  We 
ought  not  to  consider  remedies  merely  because  they  have 
a  pleasing  and  sonorous  sound.  Practical  questions  can 
be  settled  only  by  practical  means.  Phrases  will  not 
achieve  the  result.  Effective  readjustments  will,  and 
whatever  readjustments  are  necessary  must  be  made. 

But  they  must  follow  a  principle,  and  that  principle  is 
plain.  No  people  must  be  forced  under  sovereignty 
under  which  it  does  not  wish  to  live.  No  territory  must 
change  hands  except  for  the  purpose  of  securing  those 
who  inhabit  it  a  fair  chance  of  life  and  liberty.  No 
indemnities  must  be  insisted  on  except  those  that  consti- 
tute payment  for  manifest  wrongs  done.  No  readjust- 
ments of  power  must  be  made  except  such  as  will  tend  to 
secure  the  future  peace  of  the  world  and  the  future  wel- 
fare and  happiness  of  its  peoples. 

And  then  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  must  draw 
together  in  some  common  covenant,  some  genuine  and 
practical  cooperation  that  will  in  effect  combine  their 

Delivered  by  Ambassador  Francis  to  the  Russian  Government  at 
Petrograd,  June  11,  1917. 

164 


WOODROW  WILSON  165 

force  to  secure  peace  and  justice  in  the  dealings  of  nations 
with  one  another.  The  brotherhood  of  mankind  must  no 
longer  be  a  fair  but  empty  phrase ;  it  must  be  given  a 
structure  of  force  and  reality.  The  nations  must  reahze 
their  common  Ufe  and  effect  a  workable  partnership  to 
secure  that  life  against  the  aggressions  of  autocratic  and 
self-pleasing  power. 

For  these  things  we  can  afford  to  pour  out  blood  and 
treasure.  For  these  are  the  things  we  have  always  pro- 
fessed to  desire,  and  unless  we  pour  out  blood  and  treas- 
ure now  and  succeed,  we  may  never  be  able  to  unite  or 
show  conquering  force  again  in  the  great  cause  of  human 
liberty.  The  day  has  come  to  conquer  or  submit.  If  the 
forces  of  autocracy  can  divide  us,  they  will  overcome  us ; 
if  we  stand  together,  victory  is  certain  and  the  liberty 
which  victory  will  secure.  We  can  afford  then  to  be 
generous,  but  we  cannot  afford  then  or  now  to  be  weak 
or  to  omit  any  single  guaranty  of  justice  and  security. 


THE  VOICE  OF  AMERICAN   LABOR 

Samuel  Gompers 

The  gravest  crisis  in  the  world's  history  is  now  hanging 
in  the  balance  and  the  course  which  Russia  will  pursue 
may  have  a  determining  influence  whether  democracy  or 
autocracy  shall  prevail.  That  democracy  and  freedom 
will  finally  prevail  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
men  who  know,  but  the  cost,  the  time  lost,  and  the  sac- 
rifices which  would  ensue  from  lack  of  united  action  may 
be  appalling.  It  is  to  avoid  this  that  I  address  you. 
In  view  of  the  grave  crisis  through  which  the  Russian 
people  are  passing  we  assure  you  that  you  can  rely  abso- 
lutely upon  the  whole-hearted  support  and  cooperation 
of  the  American  people  in  the  great  war  against  our  com- 
mon enemy,  kaiserism.  In  the  fulfilment  of  that  cause 
the  American  government  has  the  support  of  ninety-nine 
per  cent  of  the  American  people,  including  the  working 
class  of  both  the  cities  and  of  the  agricultural  sections. 

In  free  America  as  in  free  Russia  the  agitators  for  a 
peace  favorable  to  Prussian  militarism  have  been  allowed 
to  express  their  opinions,  so  that  conscious  and  uncon- 
scious tools  of  the  kaiser  appear  more  influential  than 
they  really  are.  You  should  realize  the  truth  of  the 
situation.  There  are  but  few  in  America  willing  to  allow 
kaiserism  and  its  allies  to  continue  their  rule  over  those 

President  Samuel  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
sent  this  message  by  cable  to  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Russian 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies,  May  6,  1917. 

166 


Samuel  Gompers 


SAMUEL  GOMPERS  167 

non-German  peoples  who  wish  to  be  free  from  their  dom- 
ination. Should  we  not  protest  against  the  pro-kaiser 
SociaUst  interpretation  of  the  demand  for  "  no  annexation," 
namely,  that  all  oppressed  non-German  peoples  shall  be 
compelled  to  remain  under  the  domination  of  Prussia 
and  her  lackeys,  Austria  and  Turkey?  Should  we  not 
rather  accept  the  better  interpretation  that  there  must  be 
no  forcible  annexations,  but  that  every  people  must  be 
free  to  choose  any  allegiance  it  desires,  as  demanded  by 
the  council  of  workmen's  and  soldiers'  deputies? 

Like  yourselves,  we  are  opposed  to  all  punitive  and 
improper  indemnities.  We  denounce  the  onerous  pu- 
nitive indemnities  already  imposed  by  the  kaiser  upon 
the  people  of  Servia,  Belgium,  and  Poland. 

America's  workers  share  the  view  of  the  council  of 
workmen's  and  soldiers'  deputies,  that  the  only  way  in 
which  the  German  people  can  bring  the  war  to  an  early 
end  is  by  imitating  the  glorious  example  of  the  Russian 
people,  compelling  the  abdication  of  the  HohenzoUerns 
and  the  Hapsburgs  and  driving  the  tyrannous  nobility, 
bureaucracy,  and  the  military  caste  from  power. 

Let  the  German  Socialists  attend  to  this  and  cease 
their  false  pretenses  and  underground  plotting  to  bring 
about  an  abortive  peace  in  the  interest  of  kaiserism  and 
the  ruling  class.  Let  them  cease  calling  pretended  "in- 
ternational" conferences  at  the  instigation  or  connivance 
of  the  kaiser.  Let  them  cease  their  intrigues  to  cajole 
the  Russian  and  American  working  people  to  interpret 
your  demand  "no  annexation,  no  indemnities,"  in  a  way 
to  leave  undiminished  the  prestige  and  the  power  of  the 
German  military  caste. 

Now  that  Russian  autocracy  is  overthrown,  neither 
the  American  government  nor  the  American  people 
apprehend  that  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  Russia  in 


168  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

the  coming  constitutional  assembly  will  adopt  any  form 
of  government  other  than  the  one  best  suited  to  her 
needs.  We  feel  confident  that  no  message,  no  individual 
emissary,  and  no  commission  has  been  sent  or  will  be  sent 
with  authority  to  offer  any  advice  whatever  to  Russia 
as  to  the  conduct  of  her  internal  affairs.  Any  commis- 
sion that  may  be  sent  will  help  Russia  in  any  way  that 
she  desires  to  combat  kaiserism,  wherever  it  exists  or 
may  manifest  itself. 

Word  has  reached  us  that  false  reports  of  an  American 
purpose  and  of  American  opinions  contrary  to  the  above 
statement  have  gained  some  circulation  in  Russia.  We 
denounce  these  reports  as  the  criminal  work  of  desperate 
pro-kaiser  propagandists  circulated  with  the  intent  to  de- 
ceive and  to  arouse  hostile  feelings  between  the  two 
great  democracies  of  the  world.  The  Russian  people 
should  know  that  these  activities  are  only  additional 
manifestations  of  the  "dark  forces"  with  which  Russia 
has  been  only  too  familiar  in  the  unhappy  past. 

The  American  government,  the  American  people,  the 
American  labor  movement  are  whole-heartedly  with  the 
Russian  workers,  the  Russian  masses,  in  the  great  effort 
to  maintain  the  freedom  you  have  already  achieved,  and 
to  solve  the  grave  problems  yet  before  you. 

We  earnestly  appeal  to  you  to  make  common  cause 
with  us  to  abolish  all  forms  of  autocracy  and  despotism, 
and  to  establish  and  maintain  for  generations  yet  unborn 
the  priceless  treasures  of  justice,  freedom,  democracy,  and 
humanity. 


A   GRAVE  SITUATION 

Ambassador  Bakhmetieff 

the  vice  president 

Senators,  the  kaleidoscope  of  current  history  is  being 
turned  so  rapidly  that  to  the  normal  eye  the  combina- 
tions of  yesterday  are  forgotten,  of  to-day  are  uncertain, 
and  of  to-morrow  are  unknown.  And  yet  as  from  time 
to  time  there  are  unfolded  in  this  most  sacred  and  his- 
toric spot  portions  of  the  panorama  of  the  greatest  tragedy 
that  has  been  enacted  since  Calvary  there  stands  out  one 
clear-cut  central  figure,  the  figure  of  the  dauntless  and 
undaunted  man  who  dares  to  draw  his  sword  either  to 
preserve  or  to  obtain  for  himself  and  for  his  fellows  the 
right  of  self-government,  the  heritage  of  life,  of  liberty, 
and  of  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  It  matters  but  little  to 
us  the  feature  and  the  form  of  that  man,  his  lineage  or 
his  language,  if  he  speak  in  the  full  and  confident  tones 
of  a  manhood,  or  in  the  lisping  tongue  of  infantile  pos- 
session of  those  rights.  But  if  we  hear  from  his  lips  the 
golden  rule  of  statecraft,  then  he  is  our  brother.  He  has 
a  right  to  be,  and  he  has  a  right  to  be  here. 

We  are  honored  this  day  by  the  representatives  of  a 
people  who  have  been  our  long-time  and  unvarying 
friends.     It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  think  in  the  terms  of 

Spoken  at  the  reception  of  the  Russian  Commission  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  June  26,  1917.  It  was  preceded  by  another  of  Mr. 
Marshall's  graceful  introductions. 

169 


170  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

countries  and  continents  and  governments.  My  mind 
thinks  only  in  the  terms  of  men ;  and  perhaps  this  is  as 
it  should  be,  for  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  is  not  always  a 
strong  and  virile  woman.  In  the  hours  of  peace  she  be- 
comes pale  and  anemic,  and  it  is  oftentimes  necessary  to 
keep  her  alive  by  transfusing  into  her  veins  the  blood  of 
patriotic  and  self-sacrificing  men. 

I  cannot  think  of  France,  of  England,  of  Italy,  of 
America;  I  think  only  of  Viviani  and  Joffre,  of  Balfour 
and  Haig,  of  Udine  and  Cadorna,  of  Wilson  and  Pershing. 
On  this  day  as  I  look  into  the  eyes,  the  storm-tossed  eyes, 
of  these  our  guests,  I  cannot  think  of  Russia  as  the  land 
of  Alexander  and  Nicholas.  She  seems  to  me  to  be  only 
the  home  of  Kropotkin  and  of  Tolstoi. 

Travelers  tell  us  that  there  is  a  point  in  Iceland  where 
the  rays  of  the  setting  and  of  the  rising  sun  mingle. 
Already  upon  the  far-flung  eastern  battle  line  of  Europe 
the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  of  autocracy  have  mingled 
with  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  of  democracy.  May  that 
sun  grow  in  Ught  and  warmth,  and  may  it  be  undimmed 
by  the  clouds  of  internal  dissension.  May  democracy 
everywhere  understand  that  its  first  duty  is  to  make  a 
democrat  a  free  man  everywhere  on  earth.     (Applause.) 

Last  week  we  went  with  little  Belgium  sadly  to  her 
Gethsemane ;  to-day  let  us  go  gladly,  with  mighty  Russia, 
to  her  Mount  of  Transfiguration.     (Applause.) 

I  present  to  you  the  chairman  of  this  commission,  Mr. 
B.  A.  Bakhmetieff. 

ADDRESS    BY    AMBASSADOR    BAKHMETIEFF 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Senate,  at  the  out- 
set permit  me  to  express  to  you  sincere  thanks  and  keen 
appreciation  for  the  warm  reception  you  have  so  gra- 


AMBASSADOR    BAKHMETIEFF  171 

ciously  given  to  the  members  of  the  mission  and  to 
myself.  Great  is  the  honor  you  have  bestowed  by  per- 
mitting me  to  address  your  distinguished  body,  abrogating 
thus  a  custom  which  has  been  upheld  for  more  than  a 
century,  but  still  more  gratifying  is  the  expression  of 
cordial  sympathy  and  friendly  feeling  which  has  been 
so  manifestly  exhibited  by  your  reception. 

That  bonds  of  friendship  and  sympathy  united  the 
people  of  the  two  nations  we  knew  before  we  departed 
from  Russia.  They  were  amply  manifested  during  the 
early  days  of  the  revolution.  The  act  of  prompt  recog- 
nition of  our  new  Government  has  been  of  incalculable 
value.  For  the  brotherly  encouragement  which  you 
gave  us,  and  for  the  noble  manner  in  which  you  so  gener- 
ously stretched  forth  a  helping  hand,  we  are  here,  in 
behalf  of  the  new  Russia,  to  express  to  you  our  deepest 
and  most  heartfelt  gratitude.     (Applause.) 

At  this  moment  all  eyes  are  turned  on  Russia.  Many 
hopes  and  many  doubts  are  raised  by  the  tide  of  events 
in  the  greatest  of  revolutions  at  an  epoch  in  the  world's 
greatest  war.  Justifiable  is  the  attention,  lawful  the 
hopes,  and  naturally  conceivable  the  anxiety.  The  fate 
of  nations,  the  fate  of  the  world  is  at  stake,  all  dependent 
on  the  fate  of  Russia.  Freedom  and  peace  will  be  the 
blessings  of  the  future  if  Russia  happily  emerges  from  the 
struggle  a  powerful  democracy,  sparkling  with  the  gal- 
lantry of  her  army  returning  from  fields  won  in  common 
strife  with  her  allies.     (Great  applause.) 

I  am  not  going  to  conceal  the  gravity  of  the  situation 
that  confronts  the  Russian  Provisional  Government. 
The  revolution  called  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  very 
foundations  of  our  national  life.  It  is  not  easy  to  com- 
prehend what  it  means  to  reorganize  all  of  Russia  on 
democratic  lines.     Such  work  involves  the  whole  of  our 


172  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

social,  economic,  and  political  relations.  The  entire 
State  structure  is  affected  by  the  changes,  involving  vil- 
lage, district,  county ;  in  fact,  every  part  from  the  small- 
est to  the  central  State.  The  creation  anew  of  a  coun- 
try of  boundless  expanse  on  distinctly  new  principles 
will,  of  course,  take  time,  and  impatience  should  not  be 
shown  in  the  consummation  of  so  grand  an  event  as 
Russia's  entry  into  the  ranks  of  free  nations. 

There  has  been  a  period,  closely  following  the  revolu- 
tion, of  almost  total  suspension  of  all  military  activity, 
a  period  of  what  appeared  to  be  disintegration  of  the 
army,  a  period  which  gave  rise  to  serious  doubts  and  to 
gloomy  forebodings.  At  the  same  time  there  ensued  un- 
limited freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  which  afforded 
opportunities  for  expression  of  the  most  extreme  and 
anti-national  views,  from  all  of  which  resulted  widespread 
rumors  throughout  the  world  that  Russia  would  aban- 
don the  war  and  conclude  a  separate  peace  with  the 
central  powers. 

With  all  emphasis  and  with  the  deepest  conviction, 
may  I  reiterate  the  statement  that  such  rumors  were 
wholly  without  foundation  in  fact.  Russia  rejects  with 
indignation  any  idea  of  separate  peace.  (Prolonged 
applause.)  What  my  country  is  striving  for  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  firm  and  lasting  peace  between  democratic 
nations.  Russia  is  firmly  convinced  that  a  separate 
peace  would  mean  the  triumph  of  German  autocracy, 
would  render  lasting  peace  impossible,  create  the  greatest 
danger  for  democracy  and  liberty,  and  ever  be  a  threaten- 
ing menace  to  the  new-born  freedom  of  Russia.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

Peaceful  in  its  intentions,  striving  for  a  lasting  peace 
based  on  democratic  principles  and  established  by  demo- 
cratic will,  the  Russian  people  and  its  army  are  rallying 


AMBASSADOR    BAKHMETIEFF  173 

their  forces  around  the  banners  of  freedom,  strengthen- 
ing their  ranks  in  cheerful  self-consciousness;  to  die, 
but  not  to  be  slaves.     (Great  applause.) 

Russia  wants  the  world  to  be  safe  for  democracy. 
To  make  it  safe  means  to  have  democracy  rule  the  world. 
(Prolonged  applause.) 


WHY  ARE  WE  FIGHTING  GERMANY? 
Franklin  K,  Lane 

Why  are  we  fighting  Germany?  The  brief  answer  is 
that  ours  is  a  war  of  self-defense.  We  did  not  wish  to 
fight  Germany.  She  made  the  attack  upon  us,  not  on 
our  shores,  but  on  our  ships,  our  hves,  our  rights,  our 
future.  For  two  years  and  more  we  held  to  a  neutrality 
that  made  us  apologists  for  things  which  outraged  man's 
common  sense  of  fair  play  and  humanity. 

At  each  new  offense  —  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  the 
killing  of  civilian  Belgians,  the  attacks  on  Scarborough 
and  other  defenseless  towns,  the  laying  of  mines  in  neutral 
waters,  the  fencing  off  of  the  seas  —  and  on  and  on  through 
the  months  we  said  :  "This  is  war  —  archaic,  uncivihzed 
war,  but  war.  All  rules  have  been  thrown  away;  all 
nobihty.  Man  has  come  down  to  the  primitive  brute, 
and  while  we  cannot  justify  we  will  not  intervene.  It  is 
not  our  war." 

Then  why  are  we  in?  Because  we  could  not  keep 
out.  The  invasion  of  Belgium,  which  opened  the  war, 
led  to  the  invasion  of  the  United  States,  by  slow,  steady, 
logical  steps.  Our  sympathies  evolved  into  a  conviction 
of  self-interest.  Our  love  of  fair  play  ripened  into  alarm 
at  our  own  peril. 

And  so  we  came  into  this  war  for  ourselves.  It  is  a 
war  to  save  America,  to  preserve  self-respect,  to  justify 

This  address  was  given  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  before  the 
Home  Club  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  Washington,  D.C., 
June  4,  1917. 

174 


Franklin  K.  Lane 


FRANKLIN    K.    LANE  175 

our  right  to  live  as  we  have  hved,  not  as  some  one  else 
wishes  us  to  live.  In  the  name  of  freedom  we  challenge 
with  ships  and  men,  money  and  an  undaunted  spirit, 
that  word  ''verboten"  which  Germany  has  written  upon 
the  sea  and  upon  the  land.  For  America  is  not  the 
name  of  so  much  territory.  It  is  a  living  spirit,  born  in 
travail,  grown  in  the  rough  school  of  bitter  experiences, 
a  living  spirit  which  has  purpose  and  pride,  knows  why 
it  wishes  to  live  and  to  what  end,  knows  how  it  comes  to 
be  respected  by  the  world,  and  hopes  to  retain  that  re- 
spect by  living  on  with  the  light  of  Lincoln's  love  of  man 
as  its  old  and  new  testament. 

With  this  background  of  history  and  in  this  sense, 
then,  we  fight  Germany : 

Because  of  Belgium  —  invaded,  outraged,  enslaved, 
impoverished  Belgium.  We  cannot  forget  Li6ge,  Louvain, 
and  Cardinal  Mercier.  Translated  into  terms  of  Ameri- 
can history  these  names  stand  for  Bunker  Hill,  Lexing- 
ton, and  Patrick  Henry. 

Because  of  France  —  invaded,  desecrated  France,  a 
million  of  whose  heroic  sons  have  died  to  save  the  land 
of  Lafayette.  Glorious  golden  France,  the  preserver  of 
the  arts,  the  land  of  noble  spirit.  The  first  land  to  fol- 
low our  lead  into  republican  liberty. 

Because  of  England  —  from  whom  came  the  laws, 
traditions,  standards  of  life,  and  inherent  love  of  liberty 
which  we  call  Anglo-Saxon  civilization.  We  defeated  her 
once  on  the  land  and  once  upon  the  sea.  But  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  Africa,  and  Canada  are  free  because  of 
what  we  did.  And  they  are  with  us  in  the  fight  for  the 
freedom  of  the  seas. 

Because  of  Russia  —  new  Russia.  She  must  not  be 
overwhelmed  now.  Not  now,  surely,  when  she  is  just 
born  into  freedom.     Her  peasants  must  have  their  chance ; 


176  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

they  must  go  to  school  to  Washington,  to  Jefferson,  and 
to  Lincohi,  until  they  know  their  way  about  in  this  new, 
strange  world  of  government  by  the  popular  will. 

And  because  of  other  peoples,  with  their  rising  hope  that 
the  world  may  be  freed  from  government  by  the  soldier. 

We  are  fighting  Germany  because  she  sought  to  ter- 
rorize us  and  then  to  fool  us.  We  could  not  believe  that 
Germany  would  do  what  she  said  she  would  do  upon  the 
seas. 

We  still  hear  the  piteous  cry  of  children  coming  up  out 
of  the  sea  where  the  Lusitania  went  down.  And  Ger- 
many has  never  asked  forgiveness  of  the  world. 

We  saw  the  Sussex  sunk,  crowded  with  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  neutral  nations. 

We  saw  ship  after  ship  sent  to  the  bottom  —  ships  of 
mercy  bound  out  of  America  for  the  starving  Belgians; 
ships  carrying  the  Red  Cross  and  laden  with  the  wounded 
of  all  nations ;  ships  carrying  food  and  clothing  to  friendly, 
harmless,  terrorized  peoples;  ships  flying  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  —  sent  to  the  bottom  hundreds  of  miles  from 
shore,  manned  by  American  seamen,  murdered  against 
all  law,  without  warning. 

We  are  fighting  Germany  because  she  violated  our 
confidence.  Paid  German  spies  filled  our  cities.  Officials 
of  her  government,  received  as  the  guests  of  this  nation, 
lived  with  us  to  bribe  and  terrorize,  defying  our  law  and 
the  law  of  nations. 

We  are  fighting  Germany  because  while  we  were  yet 
her  friend  —  the  only  great  power  that  still  held  hands 
off,  —  she  sent  the  Zimmermann  note,  calling  to  her  aid 
Mexico,  our  southern  neighbor,  and  hoping  to  lure  Japan, 
our  western  neighbor,  into  war  against  this  nation  of 
peace. 

We  are  fighting  Germany  because  in  this  war  feudalism 


FRANKLIN    K.    LANE  177 

is  making  its  last  stand  against  oncoming  democracy. 
We  see  it  now.  This  is  a  war  against  an  old  spirit,  an 
ancient,  outworn  spirit.  It  is  a  war  against  feudalism 
—  the  right  of  the  castle  on  the  hill  to  rule  the  village 
below.  It  is  a  war  for  democracy  —  the  right  of  all  to 
be  their  own  masters.  Let  Germany  be  feudal  if  she 
will !  But  she  must  not  spread  her  system  over  a  world 
that  has  outgrown  it.  Feudalism  plus  science,  thirteenth 
century  plus  twentieth  —  this  is  the  rehgion  of  the  mis- 
taken Germany  that  has  linked  itself  with  the  Turk  — 
that  has,  too,  adopted  the  method  of  Mahomet.  "  The 
state  has  no  conscience."  "The  state  can  do  no  wrong." 
With  the  spirit  of  the  fanatic  she  believes  this  gospel  and 
that  it  is  her  duty  to  spread  it  by  force. 

With  poison  gas  that  makes  living  a  hell,  with  sub- 
marines that  sneak  through  the  seas  to  murder  slyly 
non-combatants,  with  dirigibles  that  bombard  men  and 
women  while  they  sleep,  with  a  perfected  system  of  terror- 
ization  that  the  modern  world  first  heard  of  when  Ger- 
man troops  entered  China  —  German  feudalism  is  mak- 
ing war  upon  mankind. 

Let  this  old  spirit  of  evil  have  its  way  and  no  man 
will  live  in  America  without  paying  toll  to  it  in  manhood 
and  in  money.  This  spirit  might  demand  Canada  from 
a  defeated,  navyless  England,  and  then  our  dreams  of 
peace  on  the  north  would  be  at  an  end.  We  would  live, 
as  France  has  lived  for  forty  years,  in  haunting  terror. 

America  speaks  for  the  world  in  fighting  Germany. 
Mark  on  a  map  those  countries  which  are  Germany's 
allies  and  you  will  mark  but  four,  running  from  the 
Baltic  through  Austria  and  Bulgaria  to  Turkey.  All 
the  other  nations,  the  whole  globe  around,  are  in  arms 
against  her  or  are  unable  to  move.  There  is  deep  mean- 
ing in  this. 


178  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

We  fight  with  the  world  for  an  honest  world,  in  which 
nations  keep  their  word ;  for  a  world  in  which  nations  do 
not  live  by  swagger  or  by  threat;  for  a  world  in  which 
men  think  of  the  ways  in  which  they  can  conquer  the 
common  cruelties  of  nature  instead  of  inventing  more 
horrible  cruelties  to  inflict  upon  the  spirit  and  body  of 
man  ;  for  a  world  in  which  the  ambition  of  the  philosophy 
of  a  few  shall  not  make  miserable  all  mankind ;  for  a 
world  in  which  the  man  is  held  more  precious  than  the 
machine,  the  system,  or  the  state. 


FREE  FROM  THE   GERMAN   YOKE 
Max  F.  Meyer 

I  AM  thoroughly  famihar  with  the  present  organiza- 
tion of  the  German  social  body  and  with  its  culmination, 
the  present  German  government.  I  have  lived  in  Ger- 
many twenty-five  years.  I  was  born  there.  I  was 
educated  there.  I  spent  nineteen  years  of  my  life  in 
German  educational  institutions,  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  research  laboratory. 

I  confess  that  at  the  beginning  of  this  war  my  sym- 
pathies were  divided.  The  German  nation  had  many 
justifiable  complaints  against  its  neighbors.  But  what- 
ever wrongs  the  German  nation  may  have  suffered  in  the 
past  from  other  nations,  the  German  government  during 
this  war  has  had  more  than  one  opportunity  to  have  them 
set  right  and  to  terminate  the  war.  Its  actions  show  that 
world  domination,  not  justice,  is  its  aim.  I  sympathize 
with  the  German  people,  but  not  with  their  government. 
Perhaps  you  would  appreciate  your  American  citizenship 
better  if,  Hke  me,  you  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in 
Germany. 

If  Germany  wins  this  war,  fifty  years  hence  its  govern- 
ment will  rule  the  American  people.  I  do  not  want  my 
American  children  to  be  put  under  the  yoke  which  I 
escaped  by  coming  to  America. 

From  a  letter  from  Professor  Meyer  of  the  University  of  Missouri 
to  the  People's  Council  of  America  for  Democracy  and  Peace,  August 
13,  1917. 

179 


180  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

]\Iy  hope  is  that  the  German  government  will  be  over- 
thrown and  that  the  German  nation,  my  relatives  and 
friends,  will  enter  an  international  organization  for  peace 
and  justice.  But  the  German  government,  this  fearful 
danger  to  our  future,  can  be  overthrown  only  by  raising 
armies,  not  by  sitting  around  the  council  table  and  work- 
ing for  the  repeal  of  the  conscription  laws. 


THE  GERMAN-AMERICAN 
Hans  Zinsser 

There  are  those  among  us  who  have  been  brought  up 
in  the  best  German  tradition.  They  have  been  taught 
from  childhood  the  Hterature  and  music  of  Germany, 
They  have  studied  in  her  universities  and  have  taken 
grateful  pride  in  memories  of  their  immediate  forefathers. 
But  all  this  has  been  ploughed  under  by  the  policy  of 
merciless  and  materialistic  efficiency  with  which  a  harsh 
and  bureaucratic  government  has  succeeded  in  hypnotiz- 
ing a  whole  people. 

Under  these  circumstances,  who  can  have  a  stronger 
desire  to  see  the  German  military  power  defeated  than 
we?  This  is  our  '76.  Perhaps  we  feel  about  it  much  as 
the  colonists  felt  when  they  gathered  about  the  arsenal  in 
Concord.  They  were  English  far  more  than  we  are  Ger- 
man, yet  they  fought  because  of  their  inherent  sense  of 
liberty.  In  the  same  way  there  are  men  and  women  of 
German  lineage  in  this  country  who  resent  the  policy 
of  the  present  ruling  German  group  much  more  than  is 
possible  for  Americans  of  pure  Anglo-Saxon  blood.  We  are 
in  this  war,  heart  and  soul,  not  only  because  our  adopted 
country  has  declared  war,  not  only  because  of  Belgium,  of 
Serbia,  of  the  Lusitania,  of  the  U-boats,  of  the  Mexican 
plot  —  sufficient  reasons  in  themselves  —  but  in  addition 
to  all  this  we  believe  it  is  for  us  to  redeem  in  as  far  as  we 
may  the  blot  upon  the  memories  of  our  fathers. 

Professor  Hans  Zinsser,  who  comes  of  old-fashioned  German  liberal 
stock,  appeared  at  the  opening  of  the  Columbia  University  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  the  other  day  wearing  the  uniform  of  a  major 
in  the  United  States  army.  His  address  explains.  This  is  taken  from 
the  Chicago  Tribune  of  October  1,  1917. 

181 


THE  MENACE  OF  PRUSSIANISM 
Otto  H.  Kahn 

I  SPEAK  as  one  who  has  seen  the  spirit  of  the  Prussian 
governing  class  at  work  from  close  by,  having  at  its 
disposal  and  using  to  the  full  practically  every  agency 
for  molding  the  public  mind. 

I  have  watched  it  proceed  with  relentless  persistency 
and  profound  cunning  to  instil  into  the  nation  the 
demoniacal  obsession  of  power-worship  and  world- 
dominion,  to  modify  and  pervert  the  mentaUty,  indeed 
the  very  fiber  and  moral  substance  of  the  German  people 
—  a  people  which  until  misled,  corrupted,  and  systemati- 
cally poisoned  by  the  Prussian  ruling  caste,  was,  and 
deserved  to  be,  an  honored,  valued,  and  welcome  member 
of  the  family  of  nations. 

I  have  hated  and  loathed  that  spirit  ever  since  it  came 
within  my  ken  many  years  ago,  hated  it  all  the  more  as 
I  saw  it  ruthlessly  pulling  down  a  thing  which  was  dear 
to  me,  the  old  Germany  to  which  I  was  linked  by  ties  of 
blood,  by  fond  memories  and  cherished  sentiments. 

The  difference  in  the  degree  of  guilt  as  between  the 
German  people  and  their  Prussian  or  Prussianized  rulers 
and  leaders,  for  the  monstrous  crime  of  this  war  and  the 
atrocious  barbarism  of  its  conduct,  is  the  difference  be- 

This  address  was  made  in  late  September,  1917,  before  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.  Mr.  Kahn  is  a  member  of  the  bank- 
ing firm  of  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.  He  is  of  German  parentage,  but  his 
sentiments  are  those  of  millions  of  loyal  German-Americans  throughout 
the  whole  country. 

182 


OTTO    H.    KAHN  183 

tween  the  man  who,  acting  under  the  influence  of  a  poi- 
sonous drug,  runs  amuck  in  mad  frenzy,  and  the  unspeak- 
able malefactor  who  administered  that  drug,  well  knowing 
and  fully  intending  the  ghastly  consequences  which  were 
bound  to  follow. 

The  world  fervently  longs  for  peace.  But  there  can 
be  no  peace  answering  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  word, 
no  peace  permitting  the  nations  of  the  earth,  great  and 
small,  to  walk  unarmed  and  unafraid,  until  the  teaching 
and  the  leadership  of  the  apostles  of  an  outlaw  creed  shall 
have  become  discredited  and  hateful  in  the  sight  of  the 
German  people,  until  that  people  shall  have  awakened  to 
a  consciousness  of  the  unfathomable  guilt  of  those  whom 
they  have  followed  into  calamity  and  shame,  until  a 
mood  of  penitence  and  of  a  decent  respect  for  the  opinions 
of  mankind  shall  have  supplanted  the  sway  of  what  Presi- 
dent Wilson  has  so  trenchantly  termed  "truculence  and 
treachery." 

God  grant  that  the  German  people  may  before  long 
work  out  their  own  salvation  and  find  the  only  road 
which  will  give  to  the  world  an  early  peace  and  lead 
Germany  back  into  the  family  of  nations  from  which  it  is 
now  an  outcast. 

From  each  of  my  visits  to  Germany  for  twenty-five 
years,  I  came  away  more  appalled  by  the  sinister  trans- 
mutation Prussianism  had  wrought  amongst  the  people, 
and  by  the  portentous  menace  I  recognized  in  it  for  the 
entire  world. 

It  had  given  to  Germany  unparalleled  prosperity, 
beneficent  and  advanced  social  legislation,  and  not  a  few 
other  things  of  value,  but  it  had  taken  in  payment  the 
soul  of  the  race.     It  had  made  a  "devil's  bargain." 

And  when  this  war  broke  out  in  Europe,  I  knew  that 
the  issue  had  been  joined  between  the  powers  of  brutal 


184  THE   FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

might  and  insensate  ambition  on  the  one  side  and  the 
forces  of  humanity  and  hberty  on  the  other,  between 
darkness  and  Hght. 

Many  there  were  at  that  time  —  and  amongst  them 
men  for  whose  character  I  had  high  respect  and  whose 
motives  were  beyond  any  possible  suspicion  —  who  said 
their  own  and  America's  duty  w^as  strict  neutrahty,  men- 
tally and  actually,  but  personally  I  believed  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  whether  we  liked  all  the  elements 
of  the  Allies'  combination  or  not  —  and  I  certainly  did 
not  like  the  Russia  of  the  Czars  —  that  the  cause  of  the 
Allies  was  America's  cause. 

I  believed  that  this  was  no  ordinary  war  between 
peoples  for  a  question  of  national  interest  or  even  national 
honor,  but  a  conflict  between  fundamental  principles  and 
ideas;  and  so  believing,  I  was  bound  to  feel  that  the 
natural  lines  of  race,  blood,  and  kinship  could  not  be  the 
determining  lines  for  one's  attitude  and  alignment,  but 
that  each  man,  whatever  his  origin,  had  to  decide  accord- 
ing to  his  judgment  and  conscience  on  which  side  was  the 
right  and  on  which  was  the  wrong  and  take  his  stand 
accordingly,  whatever  the  wrench  and  anguish  of  the  deci- 
sion.    And  thus  I  took  my  stand  three  years  ago. 

But  whatever  one's  views  and  feelings,  whatever  the 
country  of  one's  birth  or  kin,  only  one  course  was  left  for 
all  those  claiming  the  privilege  of  American  citizenship 
when  by  action  of  the  President  and  Congress  the  cause 
and  the  fight  of  the  Allies  was  formally  made  our  cause 
and  our  fight.  The  duty  of  loyal  allegiance  and  faithful 
service  to  his  country,  even  unto  death,  rests,  of  course, 
upon  every  American. 

But  if  it  be  possible  to  speak  of  a  comparative  degree 
concerning  what  is  the  highest  as  it  is  the  most  elemen- 
tary attitude  of  citizenship,  that  duty  may  almost  be 


OTTO    H.    KAHN  185 

said  to  rest  with  an  even  more  solemn  and  compelling 
obligation  upon  Americans  of  foreign  origin  than  upon 
native  Americans.  For  we  Americans  of  foreign  ante- 
cedents are  here  not  by  the  accidental  right  of  birth, 
but  by  our  own  free  choice  for  better  or  for  worse. 

We  are  your  fellow-citizens  because  you  accepted  our 
oath  of  allegiance  as  given  in  good  faith,  and  because  you 
have  opened  to  us  in  generous  trust  the  portals  of  Ameri- 
can opportunity  and  freedom,  and  you  have  admitted 
us  to  membership  in  the  family  of  Americans,  giving  us 
equal  rights  in  the  great  inheritance  which  has  been 
created  by  the  blood  and  the  toil  of  your  ancestors,  ask- 
ing nothing  from  us  in  return  but  decent  citizenship  and 
adherence  to  those  ideals  and  principles  which  are  sym- 
boHzed  by  the  glorious  flag  of  America. 

Woe  to  the  foreign-born  American  who  betrays  the 
splendid  trust  which  you  have  reposed  in  him !  Woe 
to  the  German-American,  so-called,  who,  in  this  sacred 
war  for  a  cause  as  high  as  any  for  which  ever  people  took 
up  arms,  does  not  feel  a  solemn  urge,  does  not  show  an 
eager  determination  to  be  in  the  very  forefront  of  the 
struggle,  does  not  prove  a  patriotic  jealousy,  in  thought, 
in  action,  and  in  speech,  to  rival  and  to  outdo  his  native- 
born  fellow-citizen  in  devotion  and  in  wilHng  sacrifice 
for  the  country  of  his  choice  and  adoption  and  sworn 
allegiance  and  of  their  common  affection  and  pride. 

As  Washington  led  Americans  of  British  blood  to  fight 
against  Great  Britain,  as  Lincoln  called  upon  Americans 
of  the  North  to  fight  their  very  brothers  of  the  South, 
so  Americans  of  German  descent  are  now  summoned  to 
join  in  our  country's  righteous  struggle  against  a  people 
of  their  own  blood  which,  under  the  evil  spell  of  a  dreadful 
obsession,  and,  Heaven  knows,  through  no  fault  of  ours, 
has  made  itself  the  enemy  of  this  peace-loving  nation, 


186  THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOCRACY 

as  it  is  the  enemy  of  peace  and  right  and  freedom  through- 
out the  world. 

To  gain  America's  independence,  to  defeat  oppression 
and  tyranny,  was  indeed  to  gain  a  great  cause.  To 
defend  the  very  foundations  of  liberty  and  humanity, 
the  very  groundwork  of  fair  dealing  between  nations, 
the  very  basis  of  peaceable  living  together  among  the 
peoples  of  the  earth  against  the  fierce  and  brutal  onslaught 
of  ruthless,  lawless,  faithless  might;  to  spend  the  lives 
and  the  fortunes  of  this  generation  so  that  our  descendants 
may  be  freed  from  the  dreadful  calamity  of  war  and  the 
fear  of  war,  so  that  the  energies  and  millions  and  billions 
of  treasure  now  devoted  to  plans  and  instruments  of 
destruction  may  be  given  henceforth  to  fruitful  works  of 
peace  and  progress  and  to  the  betterment  of  the  conditions 
of  the  people  —  that  is  the  highest  cause  for  which  any 
people  ever  unsheathed  its  sword. 


THE  BASIS  FOR  ENDURING  PEACE 
WooDROw  Wilson 

Every  heart  that  has  not  been  bhnded  and  hardened 
by  this  terrible  war  must  be  touched  by  this  moving  ap- 
peal of  his  Holiness  the  Pope ;  must  feel  the  dignity  and 
force  of  the  humane  and  generous  motives  which  prompted 
it,  and  must  fervently  wish  that  we  might  take  the  path 
of  peace  he  so  persuasively  points  out.  But  it  would  be 
folly  to  take  it  if  it  does  not  in  fact  lead  to  the  goal  he 
proposes. 

Our  response  must  be  based  upon  the  stern  facts,  and 
upon  nothing  else.  It  is  not  a  mere  cessation  of  arms  he 
desires;  it  is  a  stable  and  enduring  peace.  This  agony 
must  not  be  gone  through  with  again,  and  it  must  be  a 
matter  of  very  sober  judgment  what  will  insure  us  against 
it. 

His  HoHness,  in  substance,  proposes  that  we  return  to 
the  status  quo  ante  helium,  and  that  then  there  be  a 
general  condonation,  disarmament,  and  a  concert  of 
nations  based  upon  an  acceptance  of  the  principle  of 
arbitration  ;  that  by  a  similar  concert  freedom  of  the  seas 
be  established,  and  that  the  territorial  claims  of  France 
and  Italy,  the  perplexing  problems  of  the  Balkan  states, 
and  the  restitution  of  Poland  be  left  to  such  conciliatory 
adjustments  as  may  be  possible  in  the  new  temper  of 
such  a  peace,  due  regard  being  paid  to  the  aspirations  of 

Reply  of  President  Wilson  to  the  peace  note  of  Pope  Benedict  XV, 
signed,  as  is  customary,  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

187 


188  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

the  peoples  whose  poHtical  fortunes  and  affihations  will 
be  involved. 

It  is  manifest  that  no  part  of  this  program  can  be  suc- 
cessfully carried  out  unless  the  restitution  of  the  status 
quo  ante  furnishes  a  firm  and  satisfactory  basis  for  it. 

The  object  of  this  war  is  to  deliver  the  free  peoples  of 
the  world  from  the  menace  and  the  actual  power  of  a 
vast  military  establishment  controlled  by  an  irresponsible 
government  which,  having  secretly  planned  to  dominate 
the  world,  proceeded  to  carry  the  plan  out  without  regard 
either  to  the  sacred  obligations  of  treaty  or  the  long 
established  practices  and  long  cherished  principles  of 
international  action  and  honor ;  which  chose  its  own  time 
for  the  war,  delivered  its  blow  fiercely  and  suddenly, 
stopped  at  no  barrier  either  of  law  or  of  mercy,  swept  a 
whole  continent  within  the  tide  of  blood  —  not  the  blood 
of  soldiers  only  but  the  blood  of  innocent  women  and 
children  also,  and  of  the  helpless  and  the  poor  —  and  now 
stands,  balked  but  not  defeated,  the  enemy  of  four  fifths 
of  the  world. 

This  power  is  not  the  German  people.  It  is  the  ruth- 
less master  of  the  German  people.  It  is  no  business  of 
ours  how  that  great  people  came  under  its  control  or  sub- 
mitted with  temporary  zest  to  the  domination  of  its 
purpose,  but  it  is  our  business  to  see  to  it  that  the  history 
of  the  rest  of  the  world  is  no  longer  left  to  its  handling. 

To  deal  with  such  a  power  by  way  of  peace,  upon  the 
plan  proposed  by  his  Holiness  the  Pope,  would,  so  far  as 
we  can  see,  involve  a  recuperation  of  its  strength  and  a 
renewal  of  its  policy ;  would  make  it  necessary  to  create 
a  permanent  hostile  combination  of  nations  against  the 
German  people,  who  are  its  instruments,  and  would  result 
in  abandoning  the  new-born  Russia  to  the  intrigue,  the 
manifold  subtle  interference,   and   the  certain  counter- 


WOODROW  WILSON  189 

revolution,  which  would  be  attempted  by  all  the  malign 
influences  to  which  the  German  government  has  of  late 
accustomed  the  world. 

Can  peace  be  based  upon  a  restitution  of  its  power  or 
upon  any  word  of  honor  it  could  pledge  in  a  treaty  of 
settlement  and  accommodation? 

Responsible  statesmen  must  now  everywhere  see,  if 
they  never  saw  before,  that  no  peace  can  rest  securely 
upon  political  or  economic  restriction  meant  to  benefit 
some  nations  and  cripple  or  embarrass  others,  upon  vin- 
dictive action  of  any  sort,  or  any  kind  of  revenge  or 
deliberate  injury. 

The  American  people  have  suffered  intolerable  wrongs 
at  the  hands  of  the  Imperial  German  government;  but 
they  desire  no  reprisal  upon  the  German  people,  who 
have  themselves  suffered  all  things  in  this  war,  which 
they  did  not  choose.  America  believes  that  peace  should 
rest  upon  the  rights  of  peoples,  not  the  rights  of  govern- 
ments —  the  rights  of  peoples  great  or  small,  weak  or 
powerful  —  their  equal  right  to  freedom  and  security 
and  self-government  and  to  a  participation  upon  fair 
terms  in  the  economic  opportunities  of  the  world  —  the 
German  people  of  course  included,  if  they  will  accept 
equality  and  not  seek  domination. 

The  test,  therefore,  of  every  plan  of  peace  is  this :  Is 
it  based  upon  the  faith  of  all  the  peoples  involved,  or 
merely  upon  the  word  of  an  ambitious  and  intriguing 
government  on  the  one  hand  and  a  group  of  free  peoples 
on  the  other?  This  is  the  test  which  goes  to  the  root  of 
the  matter ;  and  it  is  the  test  which  must  be  applied. 

The  purposes  of  the  United  States  in  this  war  are 
known  to  the  whole  world  —  to  every  people  to  whom  the 
truth  has  been  permitted  to  come.  They  do  not  need  to 
be  stated  again.     We  seek  no  material  advantage  of  any 


190  THE   FORUM   OF   DEMOCRACY 

kind.  We  believe  that  the  intolerable  wrongs  done  in 
this  war  by  the  furious  and  brutal  power  of  the  Imperial 
German  government  ought  to  be  repaired,  but  not  at  the 
expense  of  the  sovereignty  of  any  people  —  rather  a  vin- 
dication of  the  sovereignty  both  of  those  that  are  weak 
and  of  those  that  are  strong. 

Punitive  damages,  the  dismemberment  of  empires, 
the  establishment  of  selfish  and  exclusive  economic 
leagues,  we  deem  inexpedient  and  in  the  end  worse  than 
futile,  no  proper  basis  for  a  peace  of  any  kind,  least  of  all 
for  an  enduring  peace.  That  must  be  based  upon  jus- 
tice and  fairness  and  the  common  rights  of  mankind. 

We  cannot  take  the  word  of  the  present  rulers  of  Ger- 
many as  a  guaranty  of  anything  that  is  to  endure,  unless 
explicitly  supported  by  such  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
will  and  purpose  of  the  German  people  themselves  as  the 
other  peoples  of  the  world  would  be  justified  in  accepting. 

Without  such  guaranties,  treaties  of  settlement,  agree- 
ments for  disarmament,  covenants  to  set  up  arbitration  in 
the  place  of  force,  territorial  adjustments,  reconstitutions 
of  small  nations,  if  made  with  the  German  government, 
no  man,  no  nation,  could  now  depend  on. 

We  must  await  some  new  evidence  of  the  purposes  of 
the  great  peoples  of  the  central  powers. 

God  grant  it  may  be  given  soon  and  in  a  way  to  restore 
the  confidence  of  all  peoples  everywhere  in  the  faith  of 
nations  and  the  possibility  of  a  covenanted  peace. 


AMERICA'S   CONDITIONS  FOR  PEACE 
WooDROW  Wilson 

Gentlemen  of  the  Congress  :  Once  more,  as  re- 
peatedly before,  the  spokesmen  of  the  Central  Empires 
have  indicated  their  desire  to  discuss  the  objects  of  the 
war  and  the  possible  basis  of  a  general  peace.  Parleys 
have  been  in  progress  at  Brest-Litovsk  between  Russian 
representatives  and  representatives  of  the  Central  Powers, 
to  which  the  attention  of  all  the  belligerents  has  been 
invited  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  it  may  be 
possible  to  extend  these  parleys  into  a  general  conference 
with  regard  to  terms  of  peace  and  settlement. 

The  Russian  representatives  presented  not  only  a 
perfectly  definite  statement  of  the  principles  upon  which 
they  would  be  willing  to  conclude  peace,  but  also  an  equally 
definite  program  of  the  concrete  application  of  those  prin- 
ciples. The  representatives  of  the  Central  Powers,  on  their 
part,  presented  an  outline  of  settlement  which,  if  much 
less  definite,  seemed  susceptible  of  liberal  interpretation 
until  their  specific  program  of  practical  terms  was  added. 

That  program  proposed  no  concessions  at  all,  either  to 
the  sovereignty  of  Russia  or  to  the  preferences  of  the 
populations  with  whose  fortunes  it  dealt,  but  meant,  in  a 
word,  that  the  Central  Empires  were  to  keep  every  foot  of 
territory  their  armed  forces  had  occupied  —  every  prov- 
ince, every  city,  every  point  of  vantage  —  as  a  permanent 
addition  to  their  territories  and  their  power. 

This  message,  delivered  before  the  Congress,  January  8,  1918,  is  con- 
sidered to  state  definitely  the  war  aims  of  the  Allies. 

191 


192  THE  FORUM   OF  DEMOCRACY 

It  is  a  reasonable  conjecture  that  the  general  principles 
of  settlement  which  they  at  first  suggested  originated  with 
the  more  Uberal  statesmen  of  Germany  and  Austria,  the 
men  who  have  begun  to  feel  the  force  of  their  own  people's 
thought  and  purpose,  while  the  concrete  terms  of  actual 
settlement  came  from  the  military  leaders,  who  have  no 
thought  but  to  keep  what  they  have.  The  negotiations 
have  been  broken  off.  The  Russian  representatives  were 
sincere  and  in  earnest.  They  cannot  entertain  such 
proposals  of  conquest  and  domination. 

The  whole  incident  is  full  of  significance.  It  is  also  full 
of  perplexity.  With  whom  are  the  Russian  representatives 
dealing  ?  For  whom  are  the  representatives  of  the  Central 
Powers  speaking?  Are  they  speaking  for  the  majorities 
of  their  respective  Parliaments  or  for  the  minority  parties, 
that  military  and  imperialistic  minority  which  has  so  far 
dominated  their  whole  policy  and  controlled  the  affairs  of 
Turkey  and  of  the  Balkan  states  which  have  felt  obliged 
to  become  their  associates  in  this  war? 

The  Russian  representatives  have  insisted,  very  justly, 
very  wisely  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  modern  democracy, 
that  the  conferences  they  have  been  holding  with  the 
Teutonic  and  Turkish  statesmen  should  be  held  with  open, 
not  closed  doors,  and  all  the  world  has  been  audience,  as 
was  desired.  To  whom  have  we  been  listening,  then? 
To  those  who  speak  the  spirit  and  intention  of  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  German  Reichstag  of  the  9th  of  July  last,  the 
spirit  and  intention  of  the  liberal  leaders  and  parties  of 
Germany,  or  to  those  who  resist  and  defy  that  spirit  and 
intention  and  insist  upon  conquest  and  subjugation  ? 

Or  are  we  listening,  in  fact,  to  both,  unreconciled  and 
in  open  and  hopeless  contradiction?  These  are  very 
serious  and  pregnant  questions.  Upon  the  answer  to 
them  depends  the  peace  of  the  world. 


WOODROW  WILSON  193 

But  whatever  the  results  of  the  parleys  at  Brest-Litovsk, 
whatever  the  confusions  of  counsel  and  of  purpose  in  the 
utterances  of  the  spokesmen  of  the  Central  Empires,  they 
have  again  attempted  to  acquaint  the  world  with  their 
objects  in  the  war,  and  have  again  challenged  their  ad- 
versaries to  say  what  their  objects  are  and  what  sort  of 
settlement  they  would  deem  just  and  satisfactory. 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  that  challenge  should  not 
be  responded  to,  and  responded  to  with  the  utmost  candor. 
We  did  not  wait  for  it.  Not  once,  but  again  and  again,  we 
have  laid  our  whole  thought  and  purpose  before  the  world, 
not  in  general  terms  only,  but  each  time  with  sufficient 
definition  to  make  it  clear  what  sort  of  definitive  terms  of 
settlement  must  necessarily  spring  out  of  them.  Within 
the  last  week  Mr.  Lloyd  George  has  spoken  with  admirable 
candor  and  in  admirable  spirit  for  the  people  and  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain. 

There  is  no  confusion  of  counsel  among  the  adversaries 
of  the  Central  Powers,  no  uncertainty  of  principle,  no 
vagueness  of  detail.  The  only  secrecy  of  counsel,  the 
only  lack  of  fearless  frankness,  the  only  failure  to  make 
definite  statements  of  the  objects  of  the  war,  lies  with 
Germany  and  her  allies.  The  issues  of  life  and  death 
hang  upon  these  definitions. 

No  statesman  who  has  the  least  conception  of  his 
responsibility  ought  for  a  moment  to  permit  himself  to 
continue  this  tragical  and  appalling  outpouring  of  blood 
and  treasure  unless  he  is  sure  beyond  a  peradventure  that 
the  objects  of  the  vital  sacrifice  are  part  and  parcel  of  the 
very  life  of  society  and  that  the  people  for  whom  he  speaks 
think  them  right  and  imperative  as  he  does. 

There  is,  moreover,  a  voice  calling  for  these  definitions 
of  principle  and  of  purpose  which  is,  it  seems  to  me,  more 
thrilling  and  more  compelling  than  any  of  the  many  moving 


194  THE  FORUM  OF  DEMOCRACY 

voices  with  which  the  troubled  air  of  the  world  is  filled. 
It  is  the  voice  of  the  Russian  people.  They  are  prostrate 
and  all  but  helpless,  it  would  seem,  before  the  grim  power 
of  Germany,  which  has  hitherto  known  no  relenting  and 
no  pity.  Their  power  apparently  is  shattered.  And  yet 
their  soul  is  not  subservient.  They  will  not  yield  either  in 
principle  or  in  action.  Their  conception  of  what  is  right, 
of  what  is  humane  and  honorable  for  them  to  accept,  has 
been  stated  with  a  frankness,  a  largeness  of  view,  a 
generosity  of  spirit,  and  a  universal  human  sympathy 
which  must  challenge  the  admiration  of  every  friend  of 
mankind ;  and  they  have  refused  to  compound  their  ideals 
or  desert  others  that  they  themselves  maj^  be  safe. 

They  call  to  us  to  say  what  it  is  that  we  desire,  in  what, 
if  in  anything,  our  purpose  and  our  spirit  differ  from  theirs. 
And  I  beUeve  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  wish 
us  to  respond,  with  utter  simplicity  and  frankness. 
Whether  their  present  leaders  believe  it  or  not,  it  is  our 
heartfelt  desire  and  hope  that  some  way  may  be  opened 
whereby  we  may  be  permitted  to  assist  the  people  of  Russia 
to  obtain  their  utmost  hope  of  liberty  and  ordered  peace. 

It  will  be  our  wish  and  purpose  that  the  processes  of 
peace,  when  they  are  begun,  shall  be  absolutely  open  and 
that  they  shall  involve  and  permit  henceforth  no  secret 
understandings  of  any  kind.  The  day  of  conquest  and 
aggrandizement  is  gone  by ;  so  is  also  the  day  of  secret 
covenants  entered  into  in  the  interest  of  particular  govern- 
ments and  likely  at  some  unlooked-for  moment  to  upset 
the  peace  of  the  world.  It  is  this  happy  fact,  now  clear 
to  the  view  of  every  public  man  whose  thoughts  do  not 
still  linger  in  an  age  that  is  dead  and  gone,  which  makes 
it  possible  for  every  nation  whose  purposes  are  consistent 
with  justice  and  the  peace  of  the  world,  to  avow  now  or 
at  any  other  time  the  objects  it  has  in  view. 


WOODROW  WILSON  195 

We  entered  this  war  because  violations  of  right  had 
occurred  which  touched  us  to  the  quick  and  made  the  hfe 
of  our  own  people  impossible  unless  they  were  corrected 
and  the  world  secured  once  for  all  against  their  recurrence. 
What  we  demand  in  this  war,  therefore,  is  nothing  peculiar 
to  ourselves.  It  is  that  the  world  be  made  fit  and  safe 
to  live  in,  and  particularly  that  it  be  made  safe  for  every 
peace-loving  nation  which,  Hke  our  own,  wishes  to  live  its 
own  life,  determine  its  own  institutions,  be  assured  of 
justice  and  fair  dealing  by  the  other  peoples  of  the 
world  as  against  force  and  selfish  aggression.  All  the 
peoples  of  the  world  are  in  effect  partners  in  this  interest, 
and  for  our  part  we  see  very  clearly  that  unless  justice  be 
done  to  others  it  will  not  be  done  to  us. 

The  program  of  the  world's  peace,  therefore,  is  our 
program ;  and  that  program,  the  only  possible  program, 
as  we  see  it,  is  this : 

(1)  Open  covenants  of  peace,  openly  arrived  at,  after 
which  there  shall  be  no  private  international  understand- 
ings of  any  kind,  but  diplomacy  shall  proceed  always 
frankly  and  in  the  public  view. 

(2)  Absolute  freedom  of  navigation  upon  the  seas, 
outside  territorial  waters,  alike  in  peace  and  in  war,  except 
as  the  seas  may  be  closed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  inter- 
national action  for  the  enforcement  of  international 
covenants. 

(3)  The  removal,  so  far  as  possible,  of  all  economic 
barriers  and  the  establishment  of  an  equality  of  trade 
conditions  among  all  the  nations  consenting  to  the  peace 
and  associating  themselves  for  its  maintenance. 

(4)  Adequate  guarantees  given  and  taken  that  national 
armaments  will  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  point  consistent 
with  domestic  safety. 

(5)  A    free,    open-minded    and    absolutely    impartial 


196  THE   FORUM   OF  DEMOCRACY 

adjustment  of  all  colonial  claims,  based  upon  a  strict 
observance  of  the  principle  that  in  determining  all  such 
questions  of  sovereignty  the  interests  of  the  populations 
concerned  must  have  equal  weight  with  the  equitable 
claims  of  the  government  whose  title  is  to  be  determined. 

(6)  The  evacuation  of  all  Russian  territory  and  such  a 
settlement  of  all  questions  affecting  Russia  as  will  secure 
the  best  and  freest  cooperation  of  the  other  nations  of  the 
world  in  obtaining  for  her  an  unhampered  and  unem- 
barrassed opportunity  for  the  independent  determination 
of  her  own  political  development  and  national  policy  and 
assure  her  of  a  sincere  welcome  into  the  society  of  free 
nations  under  institutions  of  her  own  choosing ;  and,  more 
than  a  welcome,  assistance  also  of  every  kind  that  she  may 
need  and  may  herself  desire.  The  treatment  accorded 
Russia  by  her  sister  nations  in  the  months  to  come  will  be 
the  acid  test  of  their  good  will,  of  their  comprehension  of 
her  needs  as  distinguished  from  their  own  interests,  and 
of  their  intelligent  and  unselfish  sympathy. 

(7)  Belgium,  the  whole  world  will  agree,  must  be 
evacuated  and  restored,  without  any  attempt  to  limit 
the  sovereignty  which  she  enjoys  in  common  with  all  other 
free  nations.  No  other  single  act  will  serve  as  this  will 
to  restore  confidence  among  the  nations  in  the  laws  which 
they  have  themselves  set  and  demanded  for  the  govern- 
ment of  their  relations  with  one  another.  Without  this 
healing  act  the  whole  structure  and  validity  of  inter- 
national law  is  forever  impaired. 

(8)  All  French  territory  should  be  freed  and  the  invaded 
portions  restored,  and  the  wrong  done  to  France  by 
Prussia  in  1871  in  the  matter  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  which 
has  unsettled  the  peace  of  the  world  for  nearly  50  years, 
should  be  righted,  in  order  that  peace  may  once  more  be 
made  secure  in  the  interest  of  all. 


WOODROW  WILSON  197 

(9)  A  readjustment  of  the  frontiers  of  Italy  should  be 
effected  along  clearly  recognizable  Hnes  of  nationality. 

(10)  The  peoples  of  Austria-Hungary,  whose  place 
among  the  nations  we  wish  to  see  safeguarded  and  assured, 
should  be  accorded  the  freest  opportunity  of  autonomous 
development. 

(11)  Roumania,  Serbia  and  Montenegro  should  be 
evacuated ;  occupied  territories  restored ;  Serbia  accorded 
free  and  secure  access  to  the  sea ;  and  the  relations  of  the 
several  Balkan  states  to  one  another  determined  by 
friendly  counsel  along  historically  established  hnes  of 
allegiance  and  nationality;  and  international  guarantees 
of  the  political  and  economic  independence  and  the 
territorial  integrity  of  the  several  Balkan  states  should 
be  entered  into. 

(12)  The  Turkish  portions  of  the  present  Ottoman 
empire  should  be  assured  a  secure  sovereignty,  but  the 
other  nationaHties  which  are  now  under  Turkish  rule  should 
be  assured  an  undoubted  security  of  life  and  an  absolutely 
unmolested  opportunity  of  autonomous  development,  and 
the  Dardanelles  should  be  permanently  opened  as  a  free 
passage  to  the  ships  and  commerce  of  all  nations  under 
international  guarantees. 

(13)  An  independent  Polish  state  should  be  erected 
which  should  include  the  territories  inhabited  by  in- 
disputably Polish  populations,  which  should  be  assured 
a  free  and  secure  access  to  the  sea,  and  whose  political 
and  economic  independence  and  territorial  integrity  should 
be  guaranteed  by  international  covenant. 

(14)  A  general  association  of  nations  must  be  formed 
under  specific  covenants  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
mutual  guarantees  of  political  independence  and  territorial 
integrity  to  great  and  small  states  alike. 

In  regard  to  these  essential  rectifications  of  wrong  and 


198  THE   FORUM   OF  DEMOCRACY 

assertions  of  right,  we  feel  ourselves  to  be  intimate  partners 
of  all  the  governments  and  peoples  associated  together 
against  the  imperiahsts :  we  cannot  be  separated  in 
interest  or  divided  in  purpose.  We  stand  together  until 
the  end. 

For  such  arrangements  and  covenants  we  are  willing 
to  fight  and  to  continue  to  fight  until  they  are  achieved ; 
but  only  because  we  wish  the  right  to  prevail  and  desire 
a  just  and  stable  peace,  such  as  can  be  secured  only  by 
removing  the  chief  provocations  to  war,  which  this  pro- 
gram does  remove.  We  have  no  jealousy  of  German 
greatness,  and  there  is  nothing  in  this  program  that  im- 
pairs it.  We  grudge  her  no  achievement  or  distinction 
of  learning  or  of  pacific  enterprise  such  as  have  made  her 
record  very  bright  and  very  enviable.  We  do  not  wish  to 
injure  her  or  to  block  in  any  way  her  legitimate  influence 
or  power.  We  do  not  wish  to  fight  her  either  with  arms 
or  with  hostile  arrangements  of  trade  if  she  is  wiUing  to 
associate  herself  with  us  and  the  other  peace-loving  nations 
of  the  world  in  covenants  of  justice  and  law  and  fair 
dealing.  We  wish  her  only  to  accept  a  place  of  equality 
among  the  peoples  of  the  world  —  the  new  world  in  which 
we  now  live  —  instead  of  a  place  of  mastery. 

Neither  do  we  presume  to  suggest  to  her  any  alteration 
or  modifications  of  her  institutions.  But  it  is  necessary, 
we  must  frankly  say,  and  necessary  as  a  preliminary  to 
any  intelligent  dealings  with  her  on  our  part,  that  we 
should  know  whom  her  spokesmen  speak  for  when  they 
speak  to  us,  whether  for  the  Reichstag  majority  or  for  the 
military  party  and  the  men  whose  creed  is  imperial 
domination. 

We  have  spoken  now,  surely  in  terms  too  concrete  to 
admit  of  any  further  doubt  or  question.  An  evident 
principle  runs  through  the  whole  program  I  have  outlined. 


WOODROW  WILSON  199 

It  is  the  principle  of  justice  to  all  peoples  and  nationalities, 
and  their  right  to  live  on  equal  terms  of  liberty  and  safety 
with  one  another,  whether  they  be  strong  or  weak.  Unless 
this  principle  be  made  its  foundation,  no  part  of  the  struc- 
ture of  international  justice  can  stand.  The  people  of  the 
United  States  could  act  upon  no  other  principle,  and  to 
the  vindication  of  this  principle  they  are  ready  to  devote 
their  lives,  their  honor,  and  everything  that  they  possess. 
The  moral  climax  of  this,  the  culminating  and  final  war 
for  human  liberty,  has  come,  and  they  are  ready  to  put 
their  own  strength,  their  own  highest  purpose,  their  own 
integrity  and  devotion  to  the  test. 


PRONUNCIATION   OF   PROPER   NAMES 


Note.  —  The  War  has  changed  many  accepted  pronunciations,  and 
many  foreign  sounds  do  not  exist  in  English.  In  the  following  list  the 
sound  of  French  j  is  represented  by  z,  French  u  by  ii,  French  nasal  m  or 
n  by  n,  and  German  ch  by  h. 


^schylus  (Es'kilus) 

Agrlppa  (Agrip'pa) 

Albert  Thomas  (Albar'  To'ma) 

Alsace  (Alsas'  or  Alsas') 

Anatole  (AnatSl') 

Annales,  les  (Annal') 

Aristide  (Arlsted) 

Bakhmetieff  (Bakmgte'ef) 

Balfour  (Bal'foor) 

Ballin  (Balen') 

Balliol     (Ba'liol ;     also     spelled 

Baliol)  "" 
Bastile  (Bastel') 
Belgia     Irredenta     (B61'ja     ira- 

den'ta) 
Bellinzona  (Bellintzo'na) 
Ben  Rabinson  (Ra'binson) 
Berthelot  (Bartalo') 
Bey  (Ba  or  Be) 
Blumenthal  (Bloo'mental) 
Boche  (bosh) 
Boer  (Boor) 
Bonar  Law  (Bon'ar) 
Boselli,     Signor    Paolo    (sen'ySr 

Pou'lo  B6s§l'li) 
Botzen  (Bot'sen) 
Briand  (Brean') 
Brieg  (Breg) 
Brixen  (Brix'en) 

Cadorna  (Caddr'na) 
Camillo  (Camil'o) 


Cardiff  (Car'dif) 

Cavell  (Cavel') 

Cavour,  di  (Cav5r') 

ceterum  censeo  Cartaginem  esse 

delendam      (Latin:    Again    I 

vote    that   Carthage   ought   to 

be  wiped  out) 
Chabannes  (Shaban') 
Chambrun  (Shanbrun) 
Chasseurs  (Shasser') 
Chiavenna  (Keavg'na) 
College    St.    Barbe    (Colez'    SSn 

Barb) 
cuirassiers  (KwerSsia') 

D'Annunzio  (Danoon'tzIO) 
de  Wiart  (de  Year) 
Descartes  (Dacart') 
Deschanel  (Dashanel') 
di  Cavour  (see  Cavour) 
Djavid  Bey  (Dya'ved  Ba) 
Dolorosa  (see  Via  Dolorosa) 
Domo  d'Ossola  (Domo  dos'sala) 
Doumic  (Doomek') 
Doury  (Doore') 
dragoons  (dragoons') 
Dreyfus  (Dra'fiis) 
Duma  (Du'ma) 

Eckstein  (Ek'shtin) 
Envers  Bey  (En'vSrs  Ba) 
Ernst  (Arnst) 
Eviva  (Eve'va) 


201 


202        PRONUNCIATION  OF  PROPER  NAMES 


Faubourg  St.    Antoine    (FC'boor 

Sint  Antwan') 
fides  Teutonica  (Latin:  German 

faith) 
Figaro  (Fe'garo) 
Fleurus  (Flu'riis) 
Foggia  (Fog'ya) 

Gabriele  (Gabre61'e) 
Galantuomo    (see  II    Re    Galan- 

tuomo) 
gardes  mobiles  (gard  mobel') 
Garibaldi  (Garlbal'di) 
Giuseppe  (Joosep'pe) 
Gorizia  (Goret'zea) 
Goschenen  (Gii'shenen) 
grognards  (gronyar') 

Hague,  the  (Hag  or  Hag) 
Haig  (Hag) 
Hans  (Hans) 
Havre  (Avr) 
Henri  (Onre') 
Heyman  (Ha' man) 

II  Re  Galantuomo   (Italian :    el 

ra  galantwo'mo) 
Irredenta  (Iraden'ta) 
Italia  (Eta'lia) 

Jacques  (Zak) 
Jacquet  (Zaka') 
Jemappes  (Z6m&p') 
Joffre  (Z5f) 
Jonescu  (You'eshoo) 

Kahn  (Kan) 
Kerensky  (K6rgn'ski) 
Kovno  (Kov'no) 
Kropotkin  (Kropot'kTii) 
Kuhn  (K66n) 

Les  Annales  (laz  annal') 
Liege  (Leai') 


L'ltalia  (leta'lia) 
Lissauer  (LIs'ouer) 
Llanystymdwy  (  Welsh  :    Unpro- 
nounceable by  any  but  natives) 
Loeb  (Lob) 
Loire  (Lvi^ar) 
Lorraine  (Lo  ran') 
Louvain  (LoovJln') 

Maeterlinck  (Ma'terlink) 

Magyar  (Mag'yar) 

Mahomet        (Ma  hom'et ;      also 

spelled  Mohammed) 
Maurice  (Mores'  or  MSr'ris) 
Mazzini  (Matze'ni) 
Mercier  (Marsia') 
Meyer  (Mi'er) 
Molifere  (Moliar') 
Moncheur  (Monshfir') 
Monsieur  (mesye') 

Nairobi  (Ni  ro'bi,  capital  of  a 
British  pro\ince  in  the  East 
African  Protectorate) 

Nivelle  (Nevel') 


Oesterreich    (Esterrln. 
name  for  Austria) 


German 


Palmerston  (Pam'erston) 

Paolo  Boselli  (Poul5  Bosgl'li) 

Pascal  (Pascal') 

Pasteur  (Paster') 

Pescara  (Pasca'ra) 

Petain  (PetSn') 

Petit  Parisien  (P5te'  ParTziafi') 

Plataea  (Pla  te'a) 

Pleiades  (Ple'adez) 

Poincare  (PwXiicara') 

Prato  (Prii'to) 

Premier  (Prgmia'  or  pr6m6r') 

Premiership  (primgr'ship) 


PRONUNCIATION   OF  PROPER  NAMES         203 


Rabelais  (Rabela') 

Rabinson,  Ben  (Ra'biuson) 

Re  (see  II  Re  Galantuomo) 

Reichshofen  (RiHs'hofgii) 

Reichstag  (RiHS'taii) 

Renan  (Renan') 

Ren6  (Rgna') 

Revue  (Rgvti') 

Rheims  (RS,ns) 

Rhodesia  (Rode'sia  or  ROde'zia) 

Ribot  (Rebo') 

Ritter  Tannhauser  (RTt'tSr  Tan'- 

hoyser) 
Rochambeau  (Roshanbo') 
Rodziauko  (Rodzian'ko) 
Rothschild  (Rot'shild) 

Saint,  see  St.  {French  S5n) 

Salamis  (Sai'amis) 

Salandra  (Salan'dra) 

sang-froid  (saii'frwa) 

Saverne  (Savarn') 

Schleswig  (Shlas'vig) 

Schweiz    (Shvltz,  German  name 

for  Switzerland) 
Seine  (San) 
Somme  (Som) 
Sonnino  (Sone'no) 
Sorbonne  (SQrbon') 
Spielmann  (Shpelman) 
St.  Antoine,  see  Faubourg 
St.  Barbs,  see  College 
St.  Ives  (Saritev'  or  Saint  Ives) 
St.  Louis  (Saiilooe  or  Saint  Levris) 
St.     Moritz     (Saint    Ma'ritz,     a 

Swiss  winter  resort) 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  (Safi  VSnsSiV 

dg  Pol) 
status  quo  ante  {Latin :  previous 

situation) 


status  quo  ante  bellum    (Latin : 

situation  before  the  war) 
Styr  (Ster) 

Taine  (Tan) 

Take  Jonescu  (Taka  Yon'gshoo) 

Tannhauser  (Tan'hoysgr) 

Tedeschi  (Tides' ki) 

Teutonia  (Toyto'nia  or  TootO'nia) 

Teutonica  fides  (Toyto'nica  fedas, 

Latin :     Teuton     or    German 

faith) 
Thibault  (Teb5') 
Thomas,  Albert  (To'ma,  Albar) 
Tolstoi  (Tol'stoy) 
Troia  (Troy'a) 
Tsing-tao  (Tslng-tou) 
Tyrol  (Tyr'ol) 

Udine  (ood'ine  or  oode'nfi) 

Valmy  (Val'mi) 

Verdun  (Vardun') 

Via     Dolorosa     (ve'a     or    we  a 

doloro'sa) 
Vistula  (Vis'tu  la) 
Viviani  (Vivia'ni) 
Voituret  (Vwatiira') 
Voltaire  (Valtar') 
Vosges  (Voz) 

Walhalla  (Valhal'la)  (mythical 
palace  of  immortality  for  those 
slain  in  battle) 

"Wiart,  see  de  Wiart 

Yser  (Ezer) 

Zangwill  (Zang'will) 
Zinsser  (Tzin'z5r) 
Zouaves  (Zooav') 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS 


Archer,  William 

Eviva  L'  Italia     .... 

AsQuiTH,  Herbert  Henry 

England  Unsheathes  the  Sword 
The  Plain  Dictates  of  Our  Duty 
Toast  to  Italy  and  Signor  Salandra 

Bakhmetieff,  Ambassador 

A  Grave  Situation 
Balfour,  Arthur  James 

At  the  Tomb  of  Washington 

The  Oldest  Free  Assemblies 
Benedict  XV,  Pope 

Plea  for  Peace        .... 
Brent,  Bishop 

Comrades  in  a  Common  Cause    . 

Churchill,  Winston  Spencer 
Now  the  War  Has  Come     . 

D'Annunzio,  Gabriele 

America,  a  Beacon  Light  of  Peace 
Deschanel,  Paul 

France  and  the  New  Commandments 

France  United  in  the  Cause  of  Right 

Greetings  from  a  Sister  Republic 
De  Wiart,  Henry  Carton 

Belgium's  Plea  to  the  President  . 

Belgium's  Debt  to  France  . 
Doumic,  Rene 

The  Soldier  of  1914  (Extract  I)  . 

The  Soldier  of  1914  (Extract  II) . 

France,  Anatole 

Address  to  the  Fighters  of  France 
205 


42 

1 

12 
69 

170 

142 
146 

56 

129 


121 

84 
101 
118 

7 
65 

14 
19 

38 


206 


INDEX 


GoMPERs,  Samuel 

The  Voice  of  American  Labor 
Grey,  Edward 

Allies'  Conditions  of  Peace 

JoFFRE,  Marshal 

Tribute  to  George  Washington 
JoNEScu,  Take 

A  Struggle  between  Two  Worlds 

Kahn,  Otto  H. 

The  Menace  of  Prussianism 
Kerensky,  Alexander 

Slaves  or  Freemen  ?      . 


Lane,  Franklin  K. 

Why  Are  We  Fighting  Germany  ? 
Lloyd  George,  David 

There  Must  Be  No  Delay 

It  Can  Be  Done 

England's  Answer 

Message  to  America    . 

America  Enters  the  War 


Maeterlinck,  Maurice 

The  War's  Legacy  of  Hatred 

The  Day  of  the  Dead 
Marshall,  Thomas  R. 

Introducing  Prince  Udine     . 
Baron  Moncheur 
Ambassador  BakhmetiefE 
Mercier,  Cardinal 

Belgium  Shall  Rise 
Meyer,  Max  F. 

Free  from  the  German  Yoke 
Moncheur,  Baron 

Liberty  or  Death 


Page,  Walter  Hines 

Great  Days  for  the  Republic 
Parker,  Gilbert 

America's  Part     . 


INDEX  207 

FAQB 

PoiNCARB,  Raymond 

The  Role  of  France  in  This  War          ....  75 

Verdun        .         .         . 78 

France  Congratulates  America 112 

RiBOT,  M, 

Greetings  from  a  Sister  Republic  .  .  .  .116 
RoDziANKO,  Michael 

Russia's  Heart     ........  46 

Roosevelt,  Theodore 

The  Flag  on  the  Firing  Line 134 

The  Rights  of  Mankind 137 

Rosen,  Baron 

The  Significance  of  the  Conflict            ....  72 

Salandra,  Antonio 

Toast  to  Premier  Asquith 67 

Thomas,  Albert 

Democracy  and  the  War     ......  106 

Udine,  Prince 

Champions  of  Liberty          ......  151 

ViviANi,  Rene  Raphael 

Certainty  of  Victory 22 

France  Gives  You  Greeting  .         .         .         .         .131 

At  the  Tomb  of  Washington 140 

Our  Heritage  of  Liberty 143 

Wilson,  Woodrow 

Reply  to  Belgium's  Plea 10 

America  for  Humanity         ......  35 

A  League  for  Peace      .......  96 

America  Breaks  with  Germany    .....  104 

War  Message 109 

America  Greets  the  Russian  RepubUc  .         .         .164 

The  Basis  for  Enduring  Peace 187 

America's  Conditions  for  Peace    .....  191 

Zangwill,  Israel 

The  War  and  the  Jews 49 

Zinsser,  Hans 

The  German-American 181 


ENGLISH 

Effective  English 

By  P.  P.  Claxton,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and 
James  McGinniss,  Principal  of  the  High  School,  Ludlow,  Kentucky, 
i2mo,  cloth,  584  pages.     Price,  $1.2^. 

EFFECTIVE  ENGLISH  is  a  complete  text-book  in  rhetoric 
covering  every  phase  of  secondary  English. 

Realizing  the  importance  of  enthusiasm  in  the  work  in  English 
the  authors  have  set  out  to  secure  the  pupils'  interest  at  the  start 
and  to  hold  it  to  the  end.  The  variety,  vigor,  and  definiteness 
of  the  presentation  will  attract  young  pupils. 

The  book  is  distinctly  literary  in  character ;  quotations  from 
the  best  writers  abound  in  its  pages.  The  authors  hold  that  the 
most  practical  English  is  learned  from  the  best  models.  In 
choosing  these  models  preference  has  been  given  to  those  which 
have  permanent  literary  value.  Special  attention  is  given,  and 
frequent  references  are  made,  to  the  great  folk-epics  of  the  Greeks, 
Germans,  and  Northmen. 

Over  half  the  book  is  devoted  to  practice.  Every  rule  and 
principle  is  carefully  illustrated,  and  ample  drill  is  afforded  to  fix 
it  in  the  pupil's  mind. 

The  exercises  cover  the  whole  range  of  school  activity  from 
the  interests  of  classical  schools  with  their  emphasis  on  Latin 
and  Greek  traditions  to  the  commercial  school  with  its  stress 
upon  Business  English.  There  are  exercises  adapted  to  every 
variety  of  boy  and  girl,  whether  they  are  interested  in  art,  bird- 
lore,  pageantry,  or  the  "movies." 

The  book  is  illustrated  with  handsome  half-tones,  which  are 
made  the  basis  of  work  in  composition. 

Effective  English  is  divided  into  six  parts,  thoroughly  discuss- 
ing all  forms  from  the  elements  of  effective  speaking  and  writing 
to  the  finer  points  of  effective  style  and  criticism.  Part  VI  treats 
of  Grammar. 

The  Appendix  deals  with  Preparation  of  Manuscript,  Punctua- 
tion and  Capitalization,  and  Suggestions  to  Teachers. 

102 


ENGLISH 


Paragraph-Writing 

By  F.  N.  Scott,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  University  of  Michigan, 
and  J.  V.  Denney,  Professor  of  English  in  Ohio  State  University. 
Revised  edition.     i2mo,  cloth,  480  pages.     Price,  $1.25. 

FOR  this  new  edition  the  book  has  been  entirely  rewritten  and 
much  enlarged.  The  fundamental  idea  of  the  book  is,  as 
before,  to  treat  the  paragraph  as  the  unit  of  composition ;  in 
adapting  the  work,  however,  to  the  present  needs  of  college  and 
university  classes  many  modifications  in  general  plan  and  in 
detail  have  been  made.  Among  these  changes  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following :  — 

The  book  has  been  enlarged  so  as  to  include  the  various  types 
of  composition  —  that  is.  Description,  Narration,  Exposition,  and 
Argument.  These  are  treated  at  length  and  with  a  thoroughness 
corresponding  to  their  present  importance  in  college  work. 

The  exercises  for  individual  work  have  been  removed  from  the 
text  and  placed  in  a  division  by  themselves.  This  arrangement 
lends  continuity  to  the  text  and  at  the  same  time  gives  space  for 
a  greatly  extended  series  of  progressive  exercises  offering  a  wide 
choice  to  instructor  and  student. 

The  illustrative  matter  of  the  preceding  edition,  through  long 
use  somewhat  familiar  to  both  teacher  and  student,  has  been 
replaced  by  fresh  and  worthy  material  from  a  great  variety  of 
sources.     In  amount  this  material  has  been  more  than  doubled. 


American  Literature  with  Readings 

By  Roy  Bennett  Pace,  Assistant  Professor  of  English  in  Sv^farthmore 
College,  Swarthmore,  Pennsylvania.     i2mo,  cloth,  671  pages.     Price, 

THIS  book  is  the  author's  American  Literature  and  Readings 
in  American  Literature  bound  together  in  one  volume. 
With  it  in  the  hands  of  the  pupil,  teachers  are  able  to  carry  out, 
at  no  great  expense,  the  author's  plan  of  studying  the  various 
writers  with  their  works  in  accessible  form. 

4 


ENGLISH 

Orations  and  Arguments 

Edited  by  C.  B.  BRADLEY,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  University  of 
California.     i2mo, -cloth,  385  pages.     Price,  ;gi.oo. 

The  following  speeches  are  contained  in  the  book  :  — 

Burke  :  Webster  : 

On  Conciliation  with  the  Col-  The  Reply  to  Hayne. 
onies,    and    Speech    before    the       Macaulay 

Electors  at  Bristol.  On  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832. 

•Chatham:  Calhoun: 

On  American  Affairs.  On  the  Slavery  Question. 

Erskine:        _  ,    ^  Seward: 

In  the  Stockdale  Case.  On  the  Irrepressible  Conflict. 
Lincoln : 

The  Gettysburg  Address. 

IN  making  this  selection,  the  test  applied  to  each  speech  was 
that  it  should  be  in  itself  memorable,  attaining  its  distinction 
through  the  essential  qualities  of  nobility  and  force  of  ideas,  and 
that  it  should  be,  in  topic,  so  related  to  the  great  thoughts, 
memories,  or  problems  of  our  own  time  as  to  have  for  us  still  an 
inherent  and  vital  interest. 

The  Notes  aim  to  furnish  the  reader  with  whatever  help  is 
necessary  to  the  proper  appreciation  of  the  speeches ;  to  avoid 
bewildering  him  with  mere  subtleties  and  display  of  erudition ; 
and  to  encourage  in  him  habits  of  self-help  and  familiarity  with 
sources  of  information. 

Note-taking 

By  S.  S.  Seward,  Jr.,  Assistant  Professor  of  English  in  the  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University.  i2mo,  flexible  qloth,  91  pages.  Price, 
50  cents. 

THIS  book  is  the  result  of  a  number  of  years'  experience  in 
training  students  to  take  notes  intelligently  and  systemati- 
cally, and  has  been  written  with  the  conviction  that  a  better 
standard  of  note-taking  will  add  much  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 
students'  work. 

It  contains  chapters  on  The  Aim  in  Note-taking,  How  to  Con- 
dense Notes,  How  to  Organize  Notes,  Special  Problems  in  Note- 
taking,  together  with  exercises  for  practice  and  many  examples. 

7 


ENGLISH 

Public  Speaking :    A  Treatise  on  Delivery  with  Se- 
lections for  Declaiming 

By  Edwin  D.  Shurter,  Associate  Professor  of  Oratory  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Texas.     i2mo,  cloth,  265  pages.     Price,  90  cents. 

THIS  book  treats  chiefly  of  persuasive  speaking,  and  the  au- 
thor lays  stress  on  the  fact  that  mental  qualities,  such  as 
clearness,  simplicity,  vivacity,  spontaneity,  and  sincerity,  are  of 
chief  value  in  declamation.  Although  this  principle  is  counted 
fundamental,  the  book  has  all  the  necessary  rules  and  principles 
for  the  technique  of  public  speaking,  with  exercises  for  perfecting 
the  voice  and  for  overcoming  defects  of  speech .  Gesture  is  treated 
in  a  very  happy  way,  as  the  physical  expression  of  earnestness. 
The  chapters  are  :  — 


I. 

The   Nature 

and 

Basis   of 

VII. 

Time :  Phrasing,  Transition- 

Public  Speaking. 

VIII. 

Force,  Climax,  Volume. 

n. 

The  Voice. 

IX. 

Tone-Color. 

ni. 

Pronunciation 

and 

Enuncia- 

X. 

Earnestness. 

tion. 

XI. 

Physical  Earnestness  — 

IV. 

Key. 

Gesture. 

V. 

Emphasis. 

XII. 

General  Suggestions. 

VI. 

Inflection. 

XIII. 

Selections  for  Practice. 

The  Selections  for  Practice  include  speeches  from  Lincoln, 
Roosevelt,  Blaine,  Grady,  John  Hay,  Woodrow  Wilson,  Wendell 
Phillips,  Henry  Watterson,  and  many  others. 

A  Drill  Book  in  English 

Compiled  by  George   E.  Gay,  Haverhill,  Mass.      i2mo,  cloth,  108 
pages.     Price,  45  cents. 

THIS  manual  will  appeal  only  to  teachers  who  believe  that  there 
is  value  in  presenting  to  the  pupils  specimens  of  bad  English 
for  correction.  It  contains  in  brief  form  rules  for  spelling,  punc- 
tuation, capitalization,  and  the  most  important  principles  of  gram- 
mar and  rhetoric.     Abundant  exercises  for  practice  are  given. 

8 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

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